Marooned
by SakuraStories
Summary: Sakura is marooned on an island with no memory of who she was with, how she got there or when/if she will be rescued. But where is Kakashi? Is he ok? Was he with her? She has no idea just how much things are going to change for her due to circumstances. Rated T for minor language and suggestive lemon themes.
1. Assess the situation

Hi everyone, been a long time since I've been on here. Apologies to my loyal fans. ;) Anyways, this story came to me the other night, and I was hoping to finish writing the entire thing before I posted it, but I cant wait to publish it, so Ill post what I have written. Its a tad out of character and a bit off the 'Naruto' story line but I haven't seen a kaka/saku story like this. If I have missed one on here, I apologize. I'm not quite sure where I am going with this, but I hope it turns out pretty good. Happy Reading!

I do not own Naruto

MAROONED

Chapter 1

Assess the situation

She started to wake slightly. Her vision still black, her bones and muscles ached as though she had been training for a week without break. Her thirst was high due to the overwhelming saltiness that lingered in her mouth. She head something far away. It sounded like the wind but with force, beating back and forth against something, over and over. She tried to remember the latest events that led her to her current situation, which she still did not understand.

She head the cry of a bird overhead, unable to make it out. The air was drenched in salt. Every breath she took made her thirst stronger. She could feel it on her skin. A fine salty mist covered her from head to toe. The sounds around her started to escalate and seemingly come closer. 'Where was she? How did she get here? What happened?' Questions raced through her head as she waited for her senses to regain themselves.

Slowly her vision began to fade in. Blue. Bright Light blue. Clouds. She was obviously lying on her back, now where exactly was she lying? The noises of the wind got stronger and she soon realized it was water. Not the water she was used to though, like the occasional waterfall they passed on a mission. No, this was more like a lake on a windy day, but stronger, larger. There wasn't enough wind to make a lake sound like that.

She saw a white bird flying above her, screeching a high pitched cry. 'Seagulls?' She remembered studying them when she was younger. She had a hidden fascination with birds at one point. 'But seagulls are usually found at ... ' Then it hit her. She knew where she was, but how did she get there? She had no recollection of coming here. Was she on a mission? Had she been kidnapped? The questions began to flood her again.

She tried to move, but to no avail. She heard the waves crashing over and over again, the seagulls were beginning to multiply. She had always though the ocean was beautiful, but right now, she really hated it. Her headache was getting worse from the sounds that any normal person would consider a relaxing break from the daily routine.

She lay there for what seemed like hours. She was a mess. Thirsty, disoriented, and in a severe amount of pain. Finally she began to move her fingers, then her arms, and slowly she pushed herself up into a sitting position. Good thing she was in shape, otherwise, she still would not be able to move. Her legs still had no movement, but she could feel the grains of the sand rubbing against her legs, so she knew it was only a matter of time before she could move them again.

She took a moment to look around at her surroundings. It was definitely a beach. High cliffs in the distance to her right, and her left. She wasn't sure if it was an island, but looking out at the sea, she saw no sign of any other land nearby. Behind her was a forest of various species of palm trees. It was too thick to see any further than a few hundred yards back. If it was an island, it appeared to be rather large.

Recent memories still evaded her. She took advantage of her half paralyzed state and tried to think of a strategy to put into place when she regained use of her legs. She saw quite a few pieces of drift wood nearby, some bark ripped off the palms, probably during a severe storm. First thing to do was build a shelter. Then she could search for food. And if there was enough light left, survey the landscape.

After half an hour she was able to move her legs, and another half hour in, she was able to walk on them. She slowly made her way towards the pieces of driftwood and broken bark pieces. She found a suitable spot to build her shelter and started working on it. After finishing, she noted the darkness was approaching quickly. She didn't have time to find firewood, or anything to cook, so she looked up into some of the palms around her and found one with some ripe coconuts. She gently shook the tree. Nothing. She shook it harder. Still nothing. She built chakra into her fist and punched the tree. Three coconuts flew down at her. She dodged the first one, the second one, but wasn't quick enough for the third. It proceeded to whack her on the head.

She was just a bit angry at this point, but contained herself. She punched one of the coconuts and it exploded. Coconut milk went everywhere. "Calm down. Breathe. Then split it open." She said aloud to herself. After collecting herself, she managed to tone down her chakra and perfectly split the coconut open with her fist. She went inside her makeshift shelter and laid down on the pile of palm branches she had set for her bedding. Questions raced through her mind until she was mentally exhausted and fell asleep.


	2. Exploration

MAROONED

Chapter 2

Exploration

The next morning, those damn birds woke her up. Although, her headache was gone, so she didn't seem to mind them too much. She poked her head out of her shelter and looked around. Everything still looked the same as it did the day before. She had hoped this was all some strange dream, but it wasn't She got out and walked over to the water pushing up on the shore. It touched her feet and then slid back into itself as if beckoning her to come join it. She obliged. Even though bathing in the salt water was a useless attempt to wash the layer of dried salt off her body, she still thought that some type of bath would make her feel slightly cleaner.

After bathing, she began to venture into the palm brush to look for food. She soon came upon various bushes covered in different types of berries. She noted that at least half of them were poisonous. She was so thankful for her studies in poisons back home. She picked a few of the non poisonous ones and made her way back to the beach. She drew a map of the location of the berries in the sand next to her bedding. She then began to walk the shore line to find out just how big this place really was.

After nearly two hours, she made it back to her shelter. It was definitely an island, a large island, and there was definitely no land for miles. She did see another island that was more of a sandbar, about a mile out, but it only appeared to have a couple of palm trees. She sighed as she plopped down on the sand in front of her new home. She still couldn't remember anything! Did they even know she was gone? Had they sent out a search party? Did they even know she was out on the sea? If this was a mission, what if it were a long term one and they wouldn't know she was missing for months? The questions just kept coming every time she took time to relax, so she got up and made her way into the brush to explore some more.

She saw different species of birds in the forest, some she recognized, others were very new to her. There were different colorful bugs and reptiles She saw a few pairs of eyes staring at her through leaves, but when she would get close, they would disappear. It was safe to say, other than the natural inhabitant species of the island, she was alone, very alone. She made her way back to her home, crawled inside and cried. "I always told Naruto to leave me alone, but what I wouldn't give to have him here now. Even that old bitty in training, Ino. I'd even be happy with Genma here right now. Or Kakashi. Even ... Sasuke, even though I hate the bastard!"

She thought about it a moment and then caught herself thinking something unreal. She wished she had one of Kakashi' s smut books. It would giver her something to do and make her feel like Kakashi was there with her to a point. Something rung more familiar than usual when she thought about Kakashi. Something she couldn't exactly remember.

A few days rolled by. She was still lonely but had accepted her situation as best as she could. She had found some useful tools in the forest and sharpened a long stick to catch fish with. She made a small fire each night to cook the fish over and stay warm through the night. She was waling the beach one morning when something green caught her eye. It was being washed upon shore and then pulled back into the water with each wave. She ran over to discover it was a flak jacket. She looked on the inside to discover her last name scrawled inside it. She hugged it close. So she had apparently been on a mission. She still didn't remember anything, but this was one piece of the large puzzle.

She went back to her home and began to check her pockets. There were a few shuriken, a couple of kunai and some other things. Then she felt it. Something was in her large pocket. She opened it up and pulled out a copy of icha icha. It was definitely Kakashi's, but what was she doing with it? A slight memory came to her.


	3. Icha Icha Paradise

MAROONED

Chapter 3

Icha Icha Paradise

Kakashi stood there reading his book. "Geez sensei! Is that all you can do is read that damn book?" He paid her no mind and she hastily walked up to him, snatched it out of his hands and stuffed it in her pocket. He appeared to begin to protest, but she gave him a look that made him back down and sigh. As soon as the memory came, it was gone. She couldn't tell where they were. She wasn't sure how old the memory was since she had no concept of time.

She started to walk the entire island shoreline to see if anything else had washed ashore, but when she saw her home coming into view, she sighed, defeated. She laid down on her bedding and opened the book. It was funny how she always hated the damn thing, but she was so excited to see it right now.

The first few pages had her blushing like a virgin. She was no stranger to sex, but foreplay had never been like this. The man was flirting with this woman in a way no man had ever flirted with her. She laughed a bit thinking to herself that he actually came off as desperate, but her laughter soon faded as she realized his desperation was to make love to this woman. He wanted her so badly that he was trying every seduction technique he knew. It was working more on her than the woman in the book.

The next day, she made her way to the berry bushes and picked her breakfast. She thought she smelled a hint of smoke. She rushed back to her fire pit and noticed it smoldering. She had hoped that someone else was here and had built a fire, but apparently her fire had taken longer to go out than usual. She sighed as she watched the waves of white, grey and black smoke head high into the sky, far away from this place.

She spent her days reading the book and had read it completely within just 3 days of finding it. It was a good read. She would never read it in public like Kakashi did, but she wouldn't mind buying a few books of the series to read in the privacy of her home, when and if she ever got home. She started to read the book again. She laughed as she thought to herself that Kakashi soon wouldn't be the only person who knew this book by heart.

But worry took over as she thought about her ex sensei. What if they had been on a mission together, what if something really bad happened on the vessel in which they were traveling? Had he drowned? Would he have been saved and she was just unfortunate to be swept away by the sea? She would know if he had washed ashore this island, wouldn't she? But she would have seen a sign of him by now though. It had been nearly a week since she arrived. She hadn't walked the island in a few days and decided to take a walk out of hope. She arrived back at her home with no luck.

The night was hot and she figured since no one was here with her, she would sleep in only her bindings. She dreamed of the characters in the book that she was now reading again for a third time. Only this time, the woman was her, and the man was ... Kakashi? It had to be because it was his book, and she was worried sick about his well being. Regardless of the reason, she continued to dream that Kakashi was seducing her in the manner of the book.


	4. Dreams?

MAROONED

Chapter 4

Dreams?

She shifted as he crawled up her body. A fire burning in his eyes she had never seen before. He had always been such a privately reserved man who never showed more emotion than a simple eye crease accompanied by a hidden smile. The lust radiated off of him and her skin was ever so eager to soak it up. Calloused fingers trailed up her side leaving a trail of charged electricity. He was above her now. They were eye level. She could feel his shallow ragged breaths beating down on her face from beneath his mask. Without a word, he reached his hand up to pull down his mask and ... for some ungodly reason, she woke up.

Not even the sea could match the fury this woman was exuding. She screamed and cursed. She flailed her arms wildly and beat them into the sand beside her bedding. Not only had she been without a sexual partner in a very long time, not only was her latest secret obsession coming to life, not only was Kakashi ok, but she was about to see the fruits of her labor since she was 12. The un-masked Kakashi. She just had to wake up. Hotter than when she had gone to sleep, she tossed about. Infuriated and unable to fall back asleep despite her futile efforts, she crawled out onto the beach.

She walked to the shoreline. The reflection of the moon was tossed about, wildly on the incoming waves. A warm breeze kissed her face. The cold water reached her toes and attempted to lure her in. She gladly followed. About waist deep, she plunged under, sending a cooling shock to her heated skin. She held her breath and let the cold water wash over her as the tide continued to push against her. It was relief. She felt so much better. She was still angry about the dream, but at least the heat wasn't adding to her frustration now.

She trailed back to her little home and attempted to fall asleep again. She was nearly there when she heard what sounded like a voice, far away. She listened quietly but heard nothing more. She waited with held breath for any sound at all but the only sound was the ocean waves. She started to walk the shoreline in hopes of hearing the sound again, but began to tire only a short ways and decided to turn back and go to bed. She would search tomorrow.

Could it have possibly been wishful thinking? She could swear the voice was male. Had she been alone on this island long enough to hit the psychotic break to imagine people? She groaned as she imagined a search party arriving at the beach and she would be sitting there having a conversation with someone who wasn't there. "I don't think I have been here long enough for that yet." Maybe her dream had just frazzled her a bit and she heard what she wanted to hear. Ignoring any more thoughts coming to her, she fell asleep.

After breakfast, she started her walk around the island in hopes of finding out if what she heard was real. She trekked around the island to find nothing. She wasn't convinced. She walked around the island three times. She took her search into the forest. She spent the entire day searching, but found nothing out of the ordinary. Slightly defeated, but still unconvinced, she made her way back to her home. She caught a couple of fish and cooked them over the fire. She looked up at the stars after eating. They were so bright here. There were so many. In Konoha, the lights dim out some of the sky. This sky was the clearest she had ever seen. A shooting star crossed her line of sight.

She snickered a bit and shook her head at herself and looked up into the night sky. "I wish that I weren't alone." She shook her head again and laughed at herself for doing something so childish as wishing on a shooting star, but no one was here to poke fun and she was willing to try anything at this point. Her greatest fear was not necessarily not being rescued, but loosing her mind from no socialization.

She slept well that night and woke up refreshed the next morning. She decided to get some training in today the best way she could. She decided to swim to the sandbar that was far out and swim back. Her intentions were to start doing it at least once a day or once every other day, depending on how far out it was. She started the swim, cautious of her surroundings. Luckily the sandbar wasn't as far as she thought. But it was very long. Perhaps longer than the island she was staying on, but it had very little foliage.

The palm trees were on the other side and she decided since the swim wasn't as long as she though, she would run to the palms and run back. The closer she got, the more something appeared to be out of place. She finally stopped a few feet away, eyes wide with shock, her mouth agape. There lay an unconscious Kakashi. She shook her head. "No, this is another dream." She looked around, hoping for some sign that something was different. She pinched herself. She didn't seem to be dreaming. She stood in shock a moment longer before assessing the situation.


	5. Medicinal Mode

MAROONED

Special thanks to the guest who reviewed :) I'm glad you are enjoying the story so far!

Chapter 5

Medical Mode

She finally began to pull herself out of it and take a look around. He had heavy dark circles under his eyes, meaning he hadn't been sleeping too well. He seemed to have been there a couple of days. His skin was badly sunburned. He would be covered in blisters if he hadn't been under the safety of the small five palms. She pinched his skin to confirm even though she already knew he was severely dehydrated. She looked up but these trees were still young and hadn't produced any coconuts. She looked at her island. She knew she would have to swim with him being unconscious. The swim looked so much further than it really was.

She lifted him up and slowly walked into the water. She draped him over her shoulder and began the long swim home. Once they finally reached the island, she pulled him ashore. She collapsed next to him. Well, she did intend to get some training in, she just hadn't planned on it being like this. She was thrilled but exhausted. The waves got pretty dangerous the closer she got to the island. She and Kakashi had been pushed under a couple of times. She checked his breathing, and he still was. The sun was on the other side of the island, so they were in the shade. She curled up next to him and fell asleep.

Probably an hour later, she woke up. The sandbar was on the opposite side of her side of the island, so naturally she was about an hour away from home, and having to carry him, make it close to a two hour walk. She didn't feel up to the journey just yet, so she walked into the forest in search of some aloe leaves for his sun burn. She returned a few moments later with some of the prickly leaves. She pulled out her kunai and split one down the middle. She placed the greenery over his arm and tied it securely with a banana leaf.

She applied the aloe leaves in the worst spots of his sunburn and pulled him towards the forest. She didn't have time to make another shelter and it was too late to begin traveling back. She gathered some firewood and built the fire. She decided to catch some fish. Realizing her tool for fishing was on the other side of the island, she decided to try something a little different. She had no use for them before, but took out a couple of shuriken and waited for a fish to get close enough to the top of the water. She flung one at a fish but he narrowly escaped. The second one wasn't so lucky. After she ate, she checked Kakashi's vitals once more and she laid down next to him.

"I know you probably cant hear me, but you have no idea how glad I am that you are here." She smiled as she snuggled up next to him. The next morning, she woke up and checked his vitals. He was still breathing, but seemed to still be unconscious. She walked out from the forest to the beach to wash her face. The sun rose on this side of the island and it was making things hot. The sand burned her skin. She didn't feel that Kakashi was ready to be moved just yet, so she built a shelter the best she could. It wasn't nearly as nice as her own, considering the availability of driftwood and stripped palm bark was scarce on this side of the island, but it was enough to house them until they could move to the other side.

She hadn't searched for food on this side of the island, so she wasn't too sure where things were. She replaced Kakashi's aloe bandages and made sure he was covered by all the shade the shelter could offer and set off to find something to eat and possibly some things she could use for medicine. She grabbed some bananas, and remarkably found a Noni plant. She was thrilled. This plant was used for so many different things. Kakashi had been running a fever due to his many problems and this would help. It helped with nausea which she was sure he would have when he gained consciousness.

She actually found some crinum and saltbush, but there was no use for it because no one around was pregnant. She figured if they got rescued, she would bring some back with her since it was in short supply at home. On her way back to the shelter, found a Kamani tree and nearly jumped for joy. Not only was the tree a great source of medication for all types of common ailments, but the oil from the nuts would make some wonderful lotion that she use to replenish her dry skin and put some moisture back in her hair. Not that she cared about maintaining her appearance as much as her childhood rival, Ino did, but when you bathe in salt water, a fine salty mist of humidity is hanging around you every second of every day, you kinda dry out a little and feel slightly gross.

She laughed as she remembered going on a mission with Ino a few years back.

They stood in front of a very expensive body care store in another village. Ino was nearly leaning on the glass and gazing at some bottle. Sakura looked at Ino with an arched brow. "Oh come on forehead, you've never heard of exfoliating? Its where they use grains of sand in a lotions base and you scrub it on your skin! It does wonders for the complexion! Too bad we don't have anything like this at home."

Sakura laughed again. "Well, I am certainly getting my care of exfoliation here. My skin should be soft as a baby by the time we get back. Hell, I'll even be nice and bring Ino home a jar of sand so she can make her own expensive exfoliating cream." She thought about it for a minute. She could fund the creation of a brand new village with all the sand on this beach made into lotion. Maybe she might bring back a few jars of sand and start a business. She shook her head, smiled and continued to head back to Kakashi.

He still had not changed position or vitals since she left, so she began to prepare a breakfast of bananas and berries. She cracked open a coconut and placed some of the Noni juice in it. Noni was very bitter tasting, but generally the best medications taste the worst. She gently lifted his head into her lap and carefully tilted the coconut upwards, allowing some of the medicinal milk to pour into his mouth. She gently massaged his throat to help it go down. She spent most of the day looking through the area to see if she could find any other medicinal plants, but didnt find much more than what she already had.

She built the fire, cooked her dinner and crawled into the shelter with Kakashi after she ate. She told him goodnight and fell asleep. She woke hours later to a weight on her waist. She looked down and noticed that his arm was draped around her and he was snoring softly in her ear. She smiled. 'If he weren't hurt, and I wasn't so glad to see him, I would beat the living hell out of him.' "Later." She quietly sighed with a devious smile. He would definitely get his ass kicked if he tried this when he got well. So he had finally come out of his unconscious state and was simply sleeping now. Tomorrow was going to be very interesting. She hoped he remembered how they had gotten into this situation because she still didn't.

A/N

I apologize to those that would argue that not all these medicinal plants can be found in the same area, but during my research, I couldn't find a whole lot to go on. Please bear with me. It is fiction after all :


	6. How did this happen?

MAROONED

Special thanks to Aurora-chan, The You of Yesterday and Tarani Bosatsu for the awesome reviews! Im so glad that it's turning out better than I hoped and that you are all enjoying it! Will have to come back and do some editing, but I'm just happy to keep publishing new chapters! This story, I have had the most fun writing out of all my other stories. The You of Yesterday made a very good point in the review, so I have edited the scene a bit.

Chapter 6

How did this happen?

She woke up before dawn. She was too anxious to sleep. She knew Kakashi would wake soon and she couldn't wait to have a real companion to talk to. Her inner self was a pain back at home, but she had hour long conversations with the little pest since she had been here. She couldn't wait to find out what had happened and how they got here. She had so many questions. Kakashi probably wouldn't feel up to talking much when he woke, and on top of his personality of being quiet and stuffed in his book he probably wouldn't speak at all. His book ... she would have to give it back. She had grown rather fond of it. Maybe he would forget she had it.

She quietly crawled out of the shelter and sat on the beach. She had never been awake to see the sun rise here and since it rose on the opposite side, she wouldn't have experienced it anyways before today. She watched as the dark blue sky began to brighten. The colors were brilliant. They way they reflected off the water made it seem as though she were staring into a large moving painting. 'Sai would have a field day here.' she thought to herself.

The sun began to make itself known and slowly crept upwards. She saw the first line of the bright burning ball. It was nearly binding, but she couldn't look away. She heard him come up to her and sit beside her, but she was too mesmerized to acknowledge his presence. "We don't get them like this at home." He said in a strained gruff voice. She could tell he didn't feel well. She simply nodded and watched as the sun was halfway above the horizon.

After they watched the glorious event, she turned to him.

"How do you feel?"

"Awful."

"I need to make you some more medicine."

"Is that what this crusted stuff is on my mask?"

"Yeah, sorry, It didn't feel right to pull it down while you were out of it."

"Well, thanks for the respect, and all you have done. I thought I was going to die out there."

"I have a place on the other side of the island. Whenever you feel up to it, we can move over there. I didn't have much to work with over here. Are you hungry?"

He nodded. She walked into the forest to gather more bananas and berries for their breakfast. She grabbed some more aloe leaves and headed back. She watched as he bathed in the ocean with his back to her. He began to wash out his mask. She wished secretly that the thing would fall to pieces in his hands. She had respect, but she could dream, right? She broke open 2 coconuts. She poured the milk into two of the halves and made the noni medicine in his. She then put 2 bananas and the berries in each empty half.

He came back from washing and sat down next to her. She handed him his bowl and turned away so he could eat in peace. He smiled at her kind gesture, even though he knew that she was secretly fighting it. He knew she had questions, bu they had plenty of time to get to that. He was just thankful she was ok. He had feared she had been lost at sea.

She allowed him to rest without any more talking until it was nearly mid day. The sun was high above them and heading to the other side. She sat next to him inside their shelter. He knew what she wanted. He began the story of how everything had happened. As he told the story, she remembered the events.

xxxXXXxxx

"I am giving you both a mandatory vacation. You both work too much and are obviously getting burned out. I have made arrangements for you to go to Kirigakure, Water Country. You will travel by sea and spend at least one month there. No work! I want you both relaxed and stress free when you come home! Is that understood?"

"Yes Lady Tsunade." Kakashi and Sakura chimed in together.

"I'll go get packed and meet you at the gate in one hour." Sakura nodded back at him as he took off. She went home and packed her bags, put all of her affairs in order and left for the gate. Another hour passed and Kakashi still wasn't there. "Typical." She huffed. She saw him finally coming into view, reading that damn book. As he approached her, he saw the anger on her face.

"That's no way to start a vacation! You should be happy and excited." She simply glared back at him in silence. He rose his eyes from the pages to look at her. "If you didn't have your nose in that stupid book all the time, we might not be late to things!" She shouted, causing the guards to look their way. He simply shrugged and started walking towards the gate. She growled her frustration to his ignoring response.

They arrived at the boat dock and climbed aboard some rinky dink, pathetic excuse for even a tug boat. The thing creaked with every step. The planks seemed to groan each time a small wave touched the boat. The boards looked like they were rotting, and some she steered clear of in fear that if she stepped on it, she would fall clear through. "Is this really the best we could do?" She asked Kakashi quietly. "They wont have anything better back for at least a week. This will have to do" He replied, eyes not leaving the pages."Is this thing safe?" She asked the captain warily. "Oh sure, Ole Misty here has been in the family since my great grandfather!" The old captain replied. "That's not very reassuring." She mumbled outside of the captain's earshot. The first few hours were fine other than the creaks and groans that simply terrified Sakura. Kakashi just stood there, un phased, reading his book the entire time.

The more frightened she got, the angrier she got as her ex sensei just stood there reading his book as though nothing were wrong. "Geez sensei! Is that all you can do is read that damn book?" He paid her no mind and she hastily walked up to him, snatched it out of his hands and stuffed it in her pocket. He appeared to begin to protest, but she gave him a look that made him back down and sigh. She was infuriated. "I can't stop worrying, and all you do is act cool and calm and read that book!" "Sakura, you just need to relax! And don't call me sensei! I have asked you to call me Kakashi."

She turned away from him and placed her arms on the rails of the boat. She looked out to the horizon and noticed some dark clouds coming towards them. She looked horrified. She turned to the captain and asked "Is that going to be a problem?" The captain scrunched his nose up and appeared to strain to focus on the incoming storm. "Can't say for sure." He stated calmly. She feared for her very life. She looked over at Kakashi who was watching the clear blue sky above their heads.

Within an hour, the relentless storm was upon them. The boat was being rocked back and forth. The thing was no bigger than a medium sized fishing boat. The captain was battling the wheel, Kakashi was holding on the rails for dear life as was Sakura who was silently having a panic attack. She heard a loud snapping sound and turned to see the captain holding the wheel which had simply snapped away from the boat. Whether it was from the storm, or just rotting wood that needed to be replaced, she wasn't concerned the reason why, just that they were going to die now.

The captain stumbled backwards, still holding the wheel and flipped over backwards off the side of the boat. Kakashi leaped into action searching the ship for a life preserver of any kind, but found nothing. "What kind of boat doesn't have a life preserver?" Sakura shrieked through the loud gusty winds. Kakashi watched vigilantly through the large waves, trying to spot any sign of the captain, but he never resurfaced. Kakashi started to dive into the ocean to search for the old man, but Sakura stopped him as another wave twice the size of the boat crashed into them.

"You will drown if you go into that water! I don't care how strong you are! I cant loose you!" Sakura screamed through tears that were invisible from the rain and mist of the waves crashing into them. Kakashi stopped and looked at Sakura. He was sure that he could survive, but Sakura's plea and the desperation in her tone on her last sentence made him realize that he should stay with her. He continued to scan the waters for any sign on the old man, but the waves kept getting larger. Sakura was right. If he had jumped in the water, the chances of finding the poor old man were slim and there was no way his strength was anything to match these waves. They were getting larger and more tempered with every passing second.

They were on an old boat that was falling apart, no steering, and caught in the middle of a ferocious storm. The huge waves rocked them about. Kakashi was on one side of the boat, holding on, Sakura on the other, doing the same. A wave that seemed half the size of the monument at home crashed into the boat. A very loud snapping noise, accompanied by some cracking and groaning. Sakura's eyes grew large as she looked to Kakashi in horror. This was bad. Really bad. The boat snapped in half, splitting them apart. She fell backwards and hit her head hard against the railing. The last thing she remembered was screaming his name as the angry waves carried them further apart until she couldn't see him anymore.

xxxXXXxxx

Kakashi continued to go on about his experience after they were split apart. He continued to float on a large plank throughout the entirety of the storm. After it died out, he fell asleep. He spent three days floating on that plank. By the time Sakura's island came into view, he was so dehydrated that he didn't have the energy to paddle to the island and washed ashore the sandbar. He slept pretty much the next three days, occasionally waking and attempting to drag himself into the water to swim to the island to try and get some food. The last memory he had was hearing a woman's scream. He knew the island was the only piece of land around. He wasn't sure if it was in his head, or if someone was actually over there. He used the last of his strength to scream out to whomever he hoped was not an illusion. That was the last thing he remembered before going unconscious.

Sakura was in complete awe after hearing the story. Just hearing the words from his mouth brought back memories she had been searching for going on two weeks now. "The captain?" "No sign, but if he had come by here, I probably wouldn't have been awake to see him." She hoped the little old man was ok, but she highly doubted it. He had nothing more than the wheel of the boat to hold onto, while each of them had the boards from the deck to float on. She was saddened thinking of the poor man's family when Kakashi gave her a strange look. "Where's my book?"

She stifled a laugh and smiled at him. "It's on the other side of the island, at my place." He sighed in relief hearing that his beloved book was not lost at sea. "Well, I'm glad you took it from me to be honest. My flak jacket is gone. I lost it during the storm. My book would have been lost with it." She laughed as Kakashi looked like he was about to cry. "Not funny!" He shouted in a playful childlike manner, causing her laughter to erupt, uncontrolled. He soon joined in her hysterical laughing. The laughing subsided and it got quiet, but the mood was definitely lighter.

"I'm glad you're here Sakura. I'm glad you are safe and I couldn't be luckier to be stranded with anyone else."

Silence. Sakura raised a brow at him. He nearly jumped.

"I ... I mean because of your amazing medical skills of course!"

"Of course." She replied in a skeptical tone.

"Seriously! I would have been a goner if I were stranded with Naruto."

She laughed, "Yeah, I haven't seen any ramen plants around here." They both laughed. They spent what was left of the afternoon talking, laughing and getting much closer than they ever had. They didn't talk much at home. The only time they spent together was during missions and it was usually rushed time, with other shinobi, so there was no freedom for heart to heart discussions.

"You know, you're not half bad to talk to once you are pried away from your book." She said with a playful shove to his shoulder. He simply smiled. She got up and headed for the shoreline.

"Where are you going?" He asked.

"To catch dinner. You feel up to finding some firewood?"

"Sure." He said as he got up and headed into the forest. He built the fire and she cooked the fish. After their meal, they went in the shelter and proceeded to lie down. This shelter was much smaller that the other shelter since she had such limited resources. She felt him stiffen against her back at their closeness.

"Relax Kakashi, we slept this close last night and you had no problems. Besides, circumstances cant be helped right now."

"Yeah, but I was unconscious!" He rang out in a defensive tone.

"Relax and go to sleep!" She nearly shouted. He immediately relaxed and his chest bumped against her back. He nearly flinched but fought the urge because she would probably pummel him right then and there. It took him a while to go to sleep. He fought with his inner pervert who kept commenting how nice it felt to be this close to her, and how soft her hair was, and how nice her skin would feel if he just reached his hand out to touch her arm. It was a very long night for Kakashi indeed.

A/N

I will definitely try to get ch. 7 published tonight, but I have a pretty busy afternoon, so if not today, then tomorrow :D Hope you are all enjoying reading this story as much as I am writing it!


	7. Getting along just fine

MAROONED

Special thanks to The You of Yesterday, Jen and Liamescent for the awesome reviews! The You of Yesterday had a very good point in a review, so I re-worded the storm scene in the last chapter just in case you read the previous version. I also really appreciate the scenario she mentioned about how Kakashi and Sakura will balance out in all this. That was my inspiration for this chapter. It's a short chapter. Fair warning, the next one is going to be a bit of a shocker, so I am going to wait to post it until tomorrow, but I will work on it tonight. I want to post chapters 8 and 9 right behind each other. You'll see why tomorrow. Happy Reading!

Chapter 7

Getting along just fine

Once Kakashi triumphed over his perverted inner, he joined Sakura in peaceful slumber. The next morning, she fixed breakfast as usual. Kakashi suggested they go for a swim. He said he needed to build up his strength since he had been immobile for over a week. He stripped off his shirt and headed into the water. He jokingly asked Sakura why she was bathing in her clothes.

"Oh I accidentally left my swim suit on the last isolated island I washed up onto." She replied sarcastically. Truth was, she was getting a bit worried though. Between the harsh sun, constant salt water and snagging them on branches and twigs, her clothes were taking a turn for the worse. She could always make an outfit out of banana leaves, but she slightly frowned upon the idea of the 'Adam and Eve' look.

Her fears were confirmed when she dove near the large rocks. There were crab near the rocks on the other side of the island, and she was hoping for some seafood tonight. Her shirt snagged on a jagged protruding rock and the already nearly sheer material ripped right up the side. She came up for air, holding her shirt firmly against her chest. Kakashi fought back a laugh at the irony. "You can wear mine, but you have to go get it. I wont look. I promise." He said with a smile. She swam up to shore and pulled his rather large black shirt over her.

It nearly swallowed her whole. Black. Of all the colors, it had to be black. It was blistering hot during the day and a black shirt certainly was not the ideal thing to wear. But she was thankful for it, nonetheless. She told Kakashi it was safe to look, and he came back to shore. He decided he was ready to walk back to the other side of the island with her. She explained how far it was and that it might be too much on him. He smiled and told her to hop on his back.

She reluctantly did so. Within twenty minutes, the lightning fast shinobi had them standing in front of her little home. He was really something. She had attempted to run like that, but just wasn't used to doing so in the sand. It would make traveling the island much faster. She wasn't sure if having Kakashi around would be helpful, or if they would begin to annoy each other after a while. Right now, she didn't care. She was so happy to have him there.

Over the next few days, Kakashi had torn down the shelter on the other side and brought all the supplies over to their side. They tore down her shelter and rebuilt it together. Better. He had a genius idea to tie coconuts on each end of a vine and hang them over the roof so the breeze wouldn't keep blowing the roof off. He showed her a lot of tactics she hadn't thought of and had her secretly asking herself 'Why didn't I think of that?'.

They were a great and productive pair to be stranded on an island with. Kakashi's logic and speed, combined with Sakura's knowledge of plants, poisons and medical skills, and the strength both of them were capable of, the two had everything they needed to survive. Every once in a while, she would get angry with him and stomp off, but he maintained himself as he always did, with a shake of the head, shrug of the shoulders and a smile on his face as he read the book she had given back to him. He had grown respectful and only read it when they weren't talking or doing something together. And every once in a while, she would sneak the book and secretly pick up where she had left off.

One day, nearly a month later, Kakashi had brought the firewood and was beginning to prepare the fire. He had been agitated lately. It was her time of the month too, so that didn't make things any better. She snapped at him for building the fire too close to the house. He snapped back at her for always being on his back about something. She screamed at him and he got up and walked off. She was an emotional mess and slumped on her bed, sobbing.

As soon as she had spoken the harsh words, she wished she could have taken them back. She had never insulted him like that before. She knew he was on edge lately, she had been doing everything she could to fend off her oncoming uninvited guest, but it would come regardless of what she tried. She was able to fend it off for a month, but this month, there was no stopping it. She was craving things that she had in her cabinets at home, but not the luxury of having here, she was cramping, she was emotional, she also got pretty aroused when that time came too. She had stopped reading the book simply because she couldn't take the frustration. She had thought about doing very naughty things with him and she was not happy with herself for thinking about those things.

She thought about it for a moment. They had been on this island for close to two months now. She knew Kakashi usually found some female company usually once every other week. She felt even worse now. He was sexually frustrated. He was being so nice to her and she was being a complete pain. How it must kill him to be in his state and sleep next to a woman without being able to touch her and put his desire to rest. He had never been anything more than a gentleman with her. She continued sobbing until she fell asleep.


	8. Ignorance is Bliss

MAROONED

Ok, please do not hate me for this chapter, but I am trying to take my writing further and write certain things that are a little outside my comfort zone. I PROMISE chapter 9 will be better.

Special thanks again to The You of Yesterday and Liamescent for the awesome reviews! I'll probably catch a little hell after this chapter though ... *Backs slowly into a corner and awaits her fate...*

Chapter 8

Ignorance is Bliss

She awoke to voices, multiple voices. She had apparently fallen asleep without cooking dinner. Kakashi was not with her. He must have slept on the other side. She remembered the hurtful things that were said the night before. The painful feeling started to swell inside her again. Genma poked his head into her little home. "Hey sunshine! Where have you been all my life?" She almost leaped and hugged his neck. Almost. She was thrilled! They were being rescued! She exited onto the beach and saw a boat full of her fellow shinobi.

Genma started to pull her towards the boat. "Wait! We have to get Kakashi!" Before anyone could say or do anything, she ran as fast as she could to the other side of the island. It took her nearly 45 minutes, but she finally made it. Out of breath, she scanned the area for him. She yelled out for him. But there was no reply. She walked towards the forest where she had first brought him to take care of his burns. He wasn't there.

She continued to walk the opposite way of which she came, searching and yelling out his name. He was no where to be found. She scanned the sand bar as best she could, but didn't see him. Those damn questions started up again. 'What if he's still mad at me, would he purposely not answer me out of anger? What if he was so upset that he decided to take a swim and drowned, was attacked or...' she stopped herself and continued to yell for her missing comrade. She announced they were being rescued.

She soon found herself back at the rescue boat. The men had a strange look on their faces. "What are you waiting for? We need to set out a search party!" She began barking orders like her female mentor. However no one moved from their positions. She looked at them in confusion and anger.

Naruto slowly walked up to her. His hand reached out and gently touched her shoulder in a comforting gesture. "Sakura ... Kakashi, he..." Naruto went silent for a moment. Sasuke walked up beside him. Sakura saw the first ever hint of an emotion other than anger and bitter revenge in the man's face. It was ... sadness? Sasuke opened his mouth and spoke the words she never wanted to hear. "He didn't make it."

"What?!" She shrieked as the tears began to pour. "He's been here with me for nearly two months! What the hell do you mean 'he didn't make it?'" Sasuke and Naruto looked at each other with confusion. She knew this had to be some brutally cruel joke. She began to cry out about their adventure together. She pointed down to the black shirt she had been wearing, only to find her red one, still in tact with her flak jacket above it.

She went silent. "He died during the boat accident. He washed up on shore a couple of weeks ago." Sasuke said in the saddest tone she had ever heard him speak. She fell to her knees. Her body went cold, her tears seemed to stop. Everything seemed to stop. She couldn't breathe, she couldn't feel anything. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the copy of icha icha.

The boys had to drag her to the boat. She couldn't move. She simply watched her home fade further away. She knew he wasn't there in her mind, but her heart still told her Kakashi was on that island. She didn't want to leave. She was happy there. Why did they have to come and ruin things? She wasn't sure exactly when she had lost her mind. She wasn't sure what had really happened and what was an illusion. All she knew was that she was happy that way. They had grown so very close in the past two months, and hadn't thought much about being rescued.

She didn't want to go home. Why couldn't they see that? The tears began to flow again as she watched her happy home fade further away. She would never be that happy again. She sobbed harder and harder until she began to hyperventilate. They boys tried to comfort her. She couldn't take it anymore. She knew now that she loved the man or rather the man she had made up. She dove into the water and began to fiercely swim towards the island.

The men yelled to her to come back, but she yelled back for them to go home. She arrived back on the sand. She ran into the forest screaming his name. She knew she was losing it further, but that is what she wanted. She wanted to fall back into her ignorant bliss. She stopped in the middle of a clearing. Beautiful Hibiscus flowers showered the entire area. "Please come back." She whispered. She sat on the ground and hugged her knees to her chest.

"Sakura." She turned to see him appear from behind the bushes. "Sakura, I'm here. It's ok!" She hugged him with all the force she could muster. "I can't do this without you!" She cried into his chest over and over.

Please dont kill me! Go to the next chapter NOW before you begin to hate me! I tried to make it short so the next chapter would come quickly!


	9. Back to Reality

Chapter 9

Back to Reality

"Sakura, I'm here, I'm not going anywhere. I'm sorry, please wake up!"

She stared at him blankly and was then jolted out of that place and opened her eyes to see Kakashi above her, in their hut. She was trembling and could feel moisture from the tears on her face. She looked down and saw his black shirt on her.

"Am .. am I still dreaming?" She whimpered between a sob.

"No but you were having one hell of a nightmare though. I was on the other side of the island walking my steam off and I heard you screaming."

She still wasn't sure what exactly to think. Her reality was a blur right now. She wasn't sure what was true. Regardless, she pulled him down on top of her and hugged him close. He was highly confused, but returned her embrace. He pulled her up to a sitting position.

"Want to talk about it?"

"No, not really, I want to forget it to be truthful."

He nodded. She sighed and began. After she finished, he sat there quietly. She looked at him to say anything, anything except 'That was real, now you're dreaming.'

"Sakura, I am ok, I am not an illusion. I know you are at that awful time of month right now. I'm sorry that I reacted so harshly towards you earlier. I've known for a couple of days that it was your time, but I kept quiet about it to give you some dignity. I know how you women can get about that kind of thing. You probably had that dream because you are overly stressed right now, and we had our first ever harsh fight earlier. We've grown to care for each other much more than we did back home through all of this and the thought of upsetting the one and only person in your present life was just too much."

She sat there in disbelief. He was right. She hadn't even figured that out yet. For someone who was a bachelor, he certainly knew more about women than half of themselves did. She merely sobbed in response. After a minute of silence, she said above a whisper "I'm sorry, Kakashi. I think I have an idea of why you have been so on edge lately too. I'm being insensitive towards you. I don't know if I can help you, but I can try to be more supportive by not biting your head off every chance I get."

He chuckled "Don't get too nice on me. I would worry if there was a lack of the occasional Sakura outburst." She smiled and laughed with him.

"I hope I am not dreaming this, I hope it's real, but even if it isn't, I'm happy again and that's all I wanted."

"You wouldn't be happier if a rescue boat showed up right now?"

"NO!" She shouted. "I ... I mean, no, not after that dream. Rescue boats are bad right now. I don't want to relive that again." He quietly laughed. He didn't exactly feel fond on the thought of being rescued at the moment either. Sakura had opened up the hidden man inside him. He was able to be open with her the way he had never been with anyone. He knew as soon as he got back, the quiet reserved man would have to return. He was rather enjoying his time there. He was a simple man and this was a simple life. It fit him perfectly.

He was tired. It was only a few hours into the night when her dream had him running. He crawled over and laid down beside her. He pulled her down next to him. Despite the larger home they had built, that had larger sleeping area, he pulled her close and hugged her tight.

"Kakashi, you don't have to. I know this probably isn't helping your issue any." He shh'ed her and held her close. "You need it tonight. I can only imagine the mess I would be from having a dream like that. From this point on, I am going to put more effort into being more considerate of you and your feelings." She smiled into his chest and agreed that she would do the same. She wasn't sure if they were just the closest that friends could get without going to the next level, or if they were developing feelings for one another. She wasn't sure if it was out of true heart feelings, or if it was just a lonely heart seeking companionship with anyone. But she would not focus on it right now. There was plenty of time to discover where things truly lied between them. Moments later she was sleeping and he soon followed.


	10. Rebuilding

MAROONED

Many Many thanks to Liamescent, The You of Yesterday and Inume-blue for the reviews! Your words keep me going! I have been so excited about writing this and you all make me want to get back to the computer as soon as i can! Ive been dreaming about this story lately from being so excited about it! I know how you feel, I myself after writing the last two chapters have even questioned if the reality is truly real or not and I know how the story is supposed to end! Well, somewhat, lol. But hopefully in the next few chapters, Things will become more clear. I hope to get at least 3 chapters done today, if not, more to come tomorrow! :D

Chapter 10

Rebuilding

She was washing her hair with the oil she had found a while back. Kakashi was on the beach, under the shade of a palm, reading his book. She would occasionally swish her hair and try to casually look his way. He seemed to be in his book reading comfort zone, paying her no mind. But as soon as she would turn back around, the book would lower a few inches, a lone onyx eye would look her way, and his cheekbone would rise, indicating his smile. He would return to his page before she looked back again.

He had grown to care so deeply for her. He wasn't sure exactly where things were going, but he was after all, a simple man and would just go with the flow. He wasn't too concerned, but he had wondered if it was merely because of the lack of partnership opportunities, or if given the chance back home, things would proceed as they are now. There was no chance of knowing if they would ever be rescued or not. He didn't like thinking about going back home.

He missed a few of the luxuries he once considered just every day items. Such as a razor. Shaving with a kunai, without a mirror wasn't the easiest thing to do. He had considered taking his mask off a few times since there was no reason to hide from Sakura, but he knew he probably looked like he had tried to give an angry cat a bath. He missed having drinks at the bar with his comrades, but it was a simple luxury that he didn't mind giving up.

The more he thought about it, the less he missed it. Between Gai shouting about youthfulness, Genma flirting with anything that had two legs, Iruka sweat dropping at everyone's antics til he was sitting in a puddle of sweat drops, Naruto being loud and obnoxious, Sasuke being the stuffy snob as usual, Yamato giving Naruto the scary face every few minutes and Sai constantly drawing on everyone's beer napkins, it seemed that he really didn't miss it THAT much.

He knew Sakura missed many of her luxuries though. Women were after all, harder to please than men were when it came to certain things, but she seemed to be ok with their situation. They had made the best of everything they had at their disposal. They never went hungry, they had a roof over their heads, no bills to pay, plenty of exercise, companionship and one hell of a beautiful view.

She came back to him and sat beside him. He put his book down and looked at her.

"I need some more of the Kamani nuts, I just used the last of the oil." He smiled and stood up.

"I'll go get some. Do you need anything else while I am over there?"

"Uh, yeah, grab some more Noni plant. I think it might help with the cramping."

He nodded and took off. She grabbed the opportunity to grab his book. She flipped to the page she had left off on. Moments later, she shut the book and sighed. There was no reading that now. She would soon be an aroused, emotional, cramping mess. She hoped that soon her hormones would die down and she could read it again. She was really missing it this week.

Close to an hour later, Kakashi came running back to her, out of breath. She was immediately concerned. Kakashi never got out of breath.

"Storm. Other side. Coming this way." He managed to pant out.

"How long do we have?"

"Maybe an hour or two."

She jumped into gear. She began punching coconut trees and gathering close vines. She made more of the coconut weights to sturdy the roof. Kakashi stopped her.

"No, were going to have to go into the forest for this one. The surge that storm could produce will be up to our knees where we stand."

"What about the house?"

"We tear it down. We will rebuild it after the storm. We cant afford for all of our materials to float out to sea. We will try to make it as storm proof as possible next time."

She agreed and they got to work tearing down their home. They stored the materials a few hundred feet into the forest, out of the line of surge IF one came. But Kakashi was right, better to be safe than sorry. The rain started as they were carrying the last of the materials back to the spot. The wind was picking up. They ventured deeper into the forest to find an area that provided some protection. There was an area of large banana trees all clustered together and the land underneath them was relatively dry. From all the foliage surrounding them, the winds weren't nearly as bad as they would be on the beach.

The storm began to pick up speed. The rain was pelting down and what little bit that gusted at them felt like needles. He held her close to him as they rode out the storm. Memories played back in her head of that night which brought them here. Was this storm as bad as the one that had destroyed their boat? What if someone else was stuck in this very storm like she and Kakashi had been? Would they survive? She just laid her head against him and thanked the heavens above that they were lucky.

The storm lasted a few hours. Things began to calm down. The torrential rain turned to a light drizzle, the darkness around them seemed to brighten a bit. The wind died down and that horrible howling noise ceased. Once the drizzle turned to a fine mist and the sun was once again shining down on them, they made their way back to the beach. Even though their side of the island didn't get the full brunt of the storm like the back of the island did, it was still a mess.

Quite a few trees had been blown over. Leaves had been sucked off the forest floor and carried out onto the sand by the surge Kakashi had warned her about. Luckily all of their materials were safe. After lying the materials out on the beach to dry, they decided to walk to the other side to survey the damage.

It was a wreck. Tress had been pushed back onto each other, the tree line seemed to be about two feet further back from all the trees that had been blown down. She raced to check on her medicinal plants since they weren't very far back. Luckily they survived. She wasn't sure if there were any locations on the island that had these plants, but she would definitely check.

Kakashi stood there thinking for a moment.

"Ok, I hear the reels turning, and there's smoke coming out of your head. What are you thinking about?"

"You know, enough trees have been blown down that this just might work." He said more to himself than her. She placed her hands on her hips and began to tap her foot, waiting on the explanation.

"Ok, Ok. We could build a sturdier house out of these trees. Almost like a lof cabin, but with palm trunks." She thought about it for a moment. He was right, enough trees had been downed, that it could work. Their house would be sturdier, and less able to be destroyed by a storm of that magnitude. They headed back to their spot and began to reassemble their old home. After finishing, she caught dinner and he built the fire. They discussed plans for the new home over their meals. She drew floor plans and layouts in the sand. He made the occasional change, but they eventually came up with the perfect home. They were both really excited!


	11. Unexpected Changes

MAROONED

Ok, now I have hundreds of ideas flooding in my head on where this story is going to go! Yesterday i had writers block and couldnt think of anything! Ha! Not today!

Thank you to Aurora-chan for the review! I Love it!

Chapter 11

Unexpected Changes

They starting to gather the materials needed for the new home the very next day. Sure they could attempt to build a raft and try to sail to civilization, but neither of them were really ready to go home yet. They were both rather enjoying the feeling of making something out of what they had. At home they had homes that were already built. They couldn't appreciate the things at home like they did here. Someone else built or made those things. They didn't need to say it. They knew the other felt the same way.

Kakashi would bring 4 or 5 logs at a time. With in a couple of days, he had brought all of the trees to their side. She began to strip the branches off the trees while he began to build the foundation. They wanted the house higher than the ground due to the surge that could flood the home, however they wanted to stay on the beach to keep a watchful eye on the sea. They weren't hoping to be rescued, but if someone did come, they would go.

He dug deep holes in the sand and she used her powerful Tsunade punch to pile drive them into the sand. He flattened the ends to make them level. The posts were about 2 feet off the ground. If any surge got higher than that, they would be in trouble no matter how sturdy the home was.

It took them nearly a month to finish it, but once it was done, they stood in front of it in awe. It was amazing. They had built 3 small rooms. She used one as a kitchen and storage for all her plants, the other 2 were bedrooms. The first few nights, they missed each others warmth since they were sleeping in separate rooms, but they knew it was for the best. Their relationship was still one of confusion as to whether it was real, or loneliness. They didn't want to make any mistakes without knowing for sure. They had both been without partners in some time and sleeping together was a dangerous thing.

They enjoyed the first week of the new home. Things were really starting to fall into place. They had their routine set in stone. They worked well with each other and had learned how to live with each other. Things really couldn't be any better.

But life has a way of throwing unsuspecting curve-balls at everyone. No routine functions long without a wrench being thrown into it. You just have to make the best, repair what you can and go on about life. Things would soon change for them. This change was brought on by another storm a few weeks later. It wasn't nearly as bad as the last two, and their home survived it without damage. The island was in good shape.

Two days after the storm, Kakashi noticed something out in the waters. Sakura saw it too, but it was so far out, they couldn't really tell what it was. Kakashi decided to swim out to its location. Sakura watched with fear, knowing how bad the waves were out that far. But he began to swim back with little effort. Once he arrived back on shore she gasped as she looked down at what he had brought back with him.

A/N Yeah, short chapter, but I had to leave it hanging with a cliffy! I'm working on the next chapter right now and will post it before I have to leave. Promise!


	12. A wrench in routine

MAROONED

Chapter 12

A wrench in routine

She looked down on an unconscious child. He was no more than eight to ten years old. Kakashi looked up at her.

"Hes still breathing. He must have been caught in the storm. You work on him and I will go up to the cliff to see if there are any other survivors out there."

She agreed and began to heal what she could. She carried the small boy into the house and laid him on her bed. She went to the kitchen and cracked open a coconut and made the noni medicine. She fed it to the small boy the exact same way she had with Kakashi. He hadn't been at sea too long since he was barely burned. He was mildly dehydrated and has likely went unconscious from being so young and enduring so much.

She smiled at the child and left him to rest. She looked up at the cliff and saw Kakashi searching the sea vigilantly. She went ahead and bathed and then came back to check on the boy. He still hadn't woken, but he was steadily improving. Color was back in his cheeks and his fever was nearly gone. About an hour later, Kakashi returned with no luck of finding anyone else or any sign of boat wreckage.

Later that evening, they sat by the fire eating their meal when the small boy emerged from the home, rubbing his sleepy eyes. Sakura got up and helped him over to the fire. She had caught an extra fish in case he woke up and handed him his meal. He slowly ate in silence as Sakura and Kakashi watched him, occasionally glancing at each other. The little boy didn't say anything after dinner and went back to bed. Sakura and Kakashi stayed by the fire talking.

"What do you think?" She asked

"I think we need to give him a few days to re cooperate and hopefully he can talk and explain what happened. If we cant get anything out of him, or no other survivors wash up, then I think we need to build a raft and try to find civilization." He noticed her shoulders slumping a bit in disappointment.

"I know, Sakura. I don't want to go home either, but it's not about just you and me anymore. We have a child to think of." Things went really quiet at that last statement. They both knew that he hadn't meant it any other way than what it was, but it just sounded odd.

"I know." She replied. "If his parents survived, or weren't even on the boat, they will be worried sick." She was devastated. She had never realized how much she didn't want to go home until now. She wished more than anything that they could simply take the boy in as their own and continue life as it was. She didn't know it, but Kakashi was thinking the same thing.

Days went by of the boy not saying a word. Sakura stayed by his side, checking his condition and speaking to him, even though he wouldn't speak back. After a few weeks, Kakashi began to build the raft. Sakura was sick to her stomach as she watched him through their kitchen window. The little boy finally spoke behind her.

"Yuu."

She turned to look at him. "Yuu? Is that your name?" He simply nodded.

"Nice to meet you, Yuu!" She smiled at him. "That is Kakashi out there. We are building a raft to take you home!"

The little boy said nothing else and showed no emotion at the thought of going home. She rubbed it off as either trauma, or maybe his parents died in the boat accident and he had no home to go to. They planned to get back to the leaf and try to find out where he was from.

That night, Sakura was laying next to Kakashi. They had been sleeping together again since the boy always fell asleep in her bed and sprawled out, giving her no room. They had planned to leave tomorrow at dawn. She snuggled close to him.

"I'm going to miss this so much." Tears began to fall down her cheeks.

"I know. Me too." He said as his thumb wiped away one of her tears. "We can always plan this on our next vacation though!"

She laughed. "If Tsunade will let us go on a vacation again. We've been gone so long."

Silence filled the home. It was their last night before leaving the place they had worked so hard on.

She woke before dawn and started to pack her supplies of food and medicine onto the raft. Kakashi made one more run around the island. After the little boy woke and they finished breakfast, they got on the raft and began the journey home. Kakashi was keeping track of the directions in his mind as best he could so that once they found home, he would have an idea of just where exactly they had been. Sakura watched in tears as the island faded away.

They spent most of the day sailing. In the late afternoon, they saw a large fishing boat coming into view. They began to shout loudly, the closer they got. They reached the boat and the fishermen helped them on board. After explaining what had happened, the men set sail for the dock Sakura and Kakashi had left from. They were saddened to hear the the old man who had captained their boat was never found, but found some comfort when the men explained that the old man had just lost his wife a few months before taking them. He had no family and mentioned multiple times that he wished for his mistress, the sea, to take him and send him to be with his wife.

Once they returned to Konoha, they brought the little boy with them to Tsunade's office.

"Where have you two been? I've sent search parties looking for you for three months!" The woman bellowed out. Then she hugged both of them. "I'm glad you're alive though. I heard about the boat. I assumed that when the captain never returned, and you both hadn't arrived at your destination, something had happened."

Kakashi explained what had happened. Tsuande was beaming with pride at hearing how well two of her best shinobi had been able to survive on a deserted island. She said that the boy would be placed in a foster facility until they could find out who he was. Sakura had requested that they boy stay with her, but Tsunade wanted Sakura and Kakashi to return to duty.

Kakashi returned to his old hidden self and Sakura buried herself in her work. They were back to rarely seeing each other again. Kakashi sat at the bar with the guys after a rather tough mission. He sipped his beer and sat quietly. His mind wasn't even in Konoha right now. He missed her, their home, being himself. Sakura entered the bar at the moment he was about to leave.

Ino was trailing behind her, gabbing her mouth off about some nonsense. Ten Ten and Hinata were trailing behind. Sakura appeared to have the same miserable look on her face that he did. He watched as the girls settled into a boot at the far end of the bar. Sakura hadn't yet noticed him. She looked horrid. She had obviously not been getting much sleep, much like himself.

He sighed and turned back to his beer. He downed the entire thing and left some money on the counter for his bill. He got up and left. Sakura had seen him leaving. She excused herself from the girls claiming she was tired. She followed him to the old bridge where team 7 used to wait for him when they were younger. He heard her footsteps shadowing behind his on the wooden planks of the bridge. He stopped and turned to face her.

She had tears in her eyes, the moon glistened against her pale skin. "I miss you." She said so quietly that he barely heard it. He mouthed the exact same words back to her. She closed her eyes and the tears fell. She turned away and began walking home. He wanted so badly to follow her. He wanted to take her in his arms the way he used to when she cried or was scared. But no one approved of their type of union. He was playing the role of old Kakashi again. He had become so comfortable being himself around her that he felt he was living a lie now.

Sakura made it home and cried over her bathroom sink. She turned the faucet and pooled water in her hands, splashing it onto her face. After she wiped her face with the towel, she looked at the faucet. She turned it off. She turned it on. She repeated this over and over. She picked up her razor. She studied it. Then her hairbrush. Then her shampoos, conditioners and soaps. How easy it was to buy these things here. She went to her bed. Sleeping on it was hard. She wasnt sure of she had just gotten so used to sleeping on the hard floor, or if she missed him, or both. Regardless, she knew she just wasn't happy here.

The next morning, Kakashi and Sakura both received notice to meet the Hokage.

A/N ok, I have to leave off here. I will try to write some more later tonight and hopefully get it published. If not, then tomorrow. Dont be too upset just yet, the story isnt over!


	13. A simple mission

MAROONED

I had thought about taking the story in another direction, but I like The You of Yesterday's idea. I would end the story too quickly if I went the route I was going.. :D

Chapter 13

A simple mission

Kakashi and Sakura met up at the Hokage's office nearly the same time. Both had fear and excitement about what she could possibly want.

"I've rounded the boys locations down to two villages. I already have a team going to the other. I need you both to go to Suna and speak with the Fifth Kazekage concerning the boy. Return with the information, if there is any."

She dismissed them and they left to pack. Sakura began to pack her bag. She and Kakashi's belongings from the last trip were lost at sea, so she packed things that she wouldn't be afraid to lose. Granted they weren't going to be marooned on the journey they were about to take, but she wasn't taking any chances from here on out. She hadn't even realized, but she found herself packing things like Bottled water, some copies of her notes on medication recipes, enough razors to last her a year, and many other things that would have been useful on the island. Before she knew it, her bag was full and she hadn't even packed the things she needed for the mission.

She emptied the bag and started over. Nearly an hour later, after several attempts at repacking, she had finally packed the bag correctly. She took off towards the gate. She was coming up on the bookstore. She knew she was running late, but she had to make this purchase. She discreetly slipped in the store and made her way to the area of books she wanted to purchase.

The grabbed a copy of one of the other books of the icha icha series. She got to the counter and took out her money. The cashier looked at her strangely. She knew Sakura. Sakura laughed nervously. "Gift for the sensei." The woman smiled, believing Sakura's lie. After all, Kakashi made it publicly known that he read the series.

"Need a bag?"

"No thanks. I'll wrap it myself." She smiled and left after stuffing the book in her pack. She finally arrived at the gate. Kakashi began to laugh. "I think I am rubbing off on you! I've been here for an hour!" She politely apologized after giving some lame excuse. She inwardly laughed. He was definitely rubbing off on her. She didn't want to tell him about the packing incident and she certainly didn't want to tell him about the bookstore purchase. It made her wonder what things Kakashi had really been doing when he gave HIS lame excuses to them. Perhaps he had a doll collection or something else really embarrassing.

They set off for Suna, feeling a tad happier than they both had since coming home. They took camp after a few hours.

"So how are things?" He asked.

"Miserable. I cant sleep, I just don't feel at home there anymore. I miss ... home."

"Me too. I just don't feel myself here anymore. I mean, I'm glad that we are back, but I'm not." She nodded in complete understanding.

"I'm glad we are on a mission together. It's nice to see you again." She said with a genuine smile.

"I feel the same way. I did some research on the island. It's not anywhere on any recorded map. I think I have a good idea of it's location though. Perhaps we can attempt to find it on the next vacation."

"I'd like that!"

She wanted to talk so badly about 'them' and where they stood, but couldn't find the courage, so she fought it away to save for another day when it felt right. The next morning, they found themselves wrapped up in each other like they used to sleep on the island. They both apologized at the same time and she turned beet red. 'Why are we apologizing?' Kakashi asked himself. Of course they were back home, but they slept like that for months, with no apologies.

Once they reached Suna, They spoke with Garra about the boy, Yuu. He had his assistant check the records, but the boy wasn't on any records. He made suggestions of places to try, but Sakura told him there was only one other place left.

"It's quite possible he is an orphan in a small village that doesn't keep records. I'll put an alert to be sent out to the smaller villages around here and ask that they do the same. We'll find out who he is."

Kakashi and Sakura thanked him. They stayed in Suna a couple of days. It was nice to be near the sand. It made them feel a little more at home.

A/N

Sorry, Im cutting this chapter short. Im so mad right now. I usually constantly save my work, but i was so into this chapter, i just kept typing and forgot to save it and i accidentally hit some button on my keyboard and the page refreshed and I lost everything after this point. Its my own fault but im a little burnt out after losing so much work. Guess I am going back to wordpad-101 and just spell check after copying. ;) So Im going to take a break for the rest of the afternoon. I will try to work some more on it tonight. Feel free to shoot me some suggestions. What would you like to see happen? I wouldn't mind rewriting it so badly if I had some ideas to write an alternate next chapter ;D


	14. Defeating Denial

MAROONED

Sorry I'm so late on the update today. It's been one hell of a morning and afternoon. I'm only planning on one chapter today but if I can get out of my funk, I'll add more.

Chapter 14

Defeating denial

Sakura sat in a dim bar with Temari. It was the night before they would return home. Once again she battled with the agony of returning. Suna was far from a deserted island, but being away from judging eyes and being with Kakashi surrounded by sand, made her feel a bit more at home. She thought about the little boy, Yuu. She had been making trips as often as she could to the orphanage to visit him. He still wasn't speaking much and rarely showed emotion, but hearing from Garra that could possibly already be an orphan made sense.

She knew in time he would open up, but she feared that if they found the orphanage he was from, he would have to return and she would never see him again. She wished to adopt him, but the rules on adoption stated that it had to be a married couple firstly, and they had to have a stable home. She and Kakashi were shinobi. If she wasn't pulling late hours at the hospital, she was on a mission. Kakashi had been going on so many missions lately that he was rarely home either.

Temari watched as Sakura seemed to sadden with each passing moment.

"So, tell me about your wild island adventure!" Sakura was pulled from her thoughts and smiled. Temari watched the pink haired woman seem to glow as the previous thoughts were replaced with ones she enjoyed. Sakura began the long story. After the story, Temari had a grin on her face.

"Do you love him?"

Sakura's eyes went large. "What do you mean?"

"Silly girl, you really think I would rat you out to your village?"

Sakura seemed embarrassed. "No, I'm sorry I didn't mean it like that. It's just ... well, I really don't know."

"What makes you question it?"

"We were on an island together for months with no other social contact. I don't know if I have these feelings for him out of loneliness, or if it's real."

"Are you happy?" Sakura looked at her questioningly. "In Konoha. Are you happy?" Sakura thought some more. She shook her head slowly.

"Why not?"

"I miss the island. We worked so hard on our home there and I really didn't want to come back. Kakashi and I rarely see each other. I'm buried in hospital work and he's constantly on missions."

"But you have had social interaction with other people, right? Other guys?" Sakura merely nodded. Temari wondered how long she would have to throw out the right words until it finally hit Sakura.

"Do you want to go back to the island? With Kakashi? With Yuu? Start where you left off, away from everyone who wouldn't approve, the ability to be the person who you really are, who makes you happy?" Once again Sakura thought about it. She thought about how she would feel if they attempted to start a family, where they left off. The thought made her so happy, she didn't need to think anymore. "Yes."

"Am I making it any clearer for you?" Temari asked. She was actually surprised. Sakura was a smart girl. One who didn't usually have to have things spelled out for her, but considering her history with Sasuke, Temari supposed Sakura wanted to be absolutely sure that someone loved her before she made it known that she felt the same.

"I think he feels the same Sakura." Temari was lying. She KNEW Kakashi felt the same. She had this very same discussion with him the night before. She would never admit to either one that she was in a way, playing cupid. She could tell they loved each other. The way they looked at each other, the smiles when the other's name was mentioned, how relieved they seemed to be just being on a mission together without anyone else tagging along.

Sakura smiled. "You really think so?" Temari nodded. "If the both of you still seem to have feelings for each other after coming back, then it's real. Sure it could have started out of loneliness, but isn't that how most relationships start? If someone isn't lonely, they wont open their heart to someone else. And besides, if you both hadn't had some type of feelings for each other prior to the marooning, if anything had happened between you, it would have been a strictly sexual relationship. Seeing as how neither of you let it get to that point, that means something too."

Sakura felt like her heart was going to beat out of her chest. She was so happy to hear this from Temari. She knew there was no one she could talk to back home about this sort of thing. The only girls she trusted were Hinata and Ten Ten, but Ten Ten was dating Neji who was all about protocol. If she told him, he would feel obligated to make it known to the elders. If Hinata told Naruto, Kakashi would get his ass kicked by the kyuubi container. She had thought about Sai, but Sai was still working on learning emotions from his books and she felt the conversation would do more damage than good.

The next morning, Kakashi and Sakura said goodbye to everyone and headed home. She wanted to talk to him about their relationship, but she kept having this feeling they were being followed. That evening they made camp. She wasn't sure if Kakashi felt the presence of the other shinobi following them or not, but she kept a watchful eye about their surroundings. Kakashi had felt the presence, but they werent a threat, so he just hadn't made it known they were being followed. He could tell Sakura knew it, but he figured she was waiting for the perfect moment to beat their snooping asses.

He announced he was going to bed after shutting his book. "Taking first watch?" He asked in his normal Kakashi Sensei tone. She neglected to look his way, but simply scowled as she looked into the dark woods, nodding her response. She had figured out shortly before making camp who was following them. She was ready to give the Sakura beat down to all four of them.

"Quit waiting for something that isn't going to happen and come out from those shrubs now!" She yelled out to the forest. Kakashi hid his smile under his mask and kept his eyes closed. Naruto's blonde hair emerged first, then Yamato, and then the dark haired Sai and Sasuke. They came over and sat around the fire, not saying a word. Finally Naruto spoke.

"How'd you know we were following you guys Sakura-Chan?" Her fists clenched and the leather began to creak beneath the force.

"Because SOMEONE accidentally unmasked their chakra! I trained with two of you since we were twelve. You think I cant recognize your chakra signature? You did great with earlier, I really thought we were being followed by someone ..." She raised her hands and did quotation marks "Who was a THREAT, but one of you let yourself slip nearly an hour ago." Yamato and Sai watched as Naruto and Sasuke exchanged glares, silently accusing each other.

Kakashi pretend to wake and rubbed his uncovered eye. "What's going on?"

"Shut up sensei." Naruto pouted. "Everyone knows you weren't asleep. You wake up when my hand gets near your precious book. Like you could sleep through Sakura-Chan's bitching!"

A loud punch erupted through the forest and Naruto was left rubbing the growing knot on his head. Sasuke began to laugh. Naruto attacked Sasuke and the two began to roll around the campfire, fighting it out. Everyone else sweat dropped. Sakura let them beat each other until she had enough and landed two equally damaging punches to the both of them. The dust cloud disappeared leaving both boys rubbing their heads. Both boys returned to their spots, not saying a word.

"What mission were you all on?" Kakashi asked Yamato.

"Well, actually Sai and I were on a different mission, but Naruto and Sasuke were the other team dispatched to the other village to find out about the boy."

"His name is Yuu." Sakura said politely. She had grown tired of everyone referring to Yuu and 'the boy'.

"Sorry, Yuu." Yamato corrected. Kakashi smiled. He knew Sakura cared for Yuu. She had told him about asking to adopt Yuu and the answer she had received. He himself had considered the possibility of adopting him, but figured Sakura was much better parent material. He just hoped that Yuu's future would be a happy one, regardless of where he went.

Sakura and Kakashi were asked again to tell the story of their adventure. Kakashi began thinking of a newsletter, or possibly t-shirts. If he had to tell the story one more time and be reminded of what he was missing, he might just disappear and abandon himself again, not without taking Sakura of course.

Finally everyone went to sleep. The next morning they traveled home in a group of six. Naruto kept asking Sakura if anything had happened on the island that she and Kakashi had left out. Sasuke was leaning in to hear, as was Sai. Yamato was curious, but feared the fist of fury, so he just stayed out of it and listened as best he could. Sakura sighed and smacked Naruto's arm.

"Nothing happened." She and Kakashi had both been very careful at how they acted towards each other once they knew they were being followed. But most people figured a man and a woman abandoned on an island, something was bound to happen, especially when that man was Kakashi Hatake. She really wished people thought a bit more highly of her at least, but people thrived on any bit of juicy gossip they could get their hands on and spread all kinds of rumors. She didn't even want to imagine the ones floating around Konoha right now. Not that she would mind if they came true one day, but it was no one's business if they did.

Once they returned to the village, she and Kakashi gave Tsunade their report. She agreed to send some teams with photos of Yuu to some of the smaller villages like Garra had promised to do. Kakashi and Sakura headed over to the orphanage afterwards. When Yuu saw both of them together, he smiled and ran over to hug them. Sakura tried to hold back happy tears. It was the first time that he had shown this amount of emotion. Hinata was volunteering at the home today and smiled as she watched the event unfold.

Contrary to what Sakura thought, Hinata didn't tell her boyfriend, Naruto everything. She had thought for quite some time that the two of them made a great couple, but had never breathed her opinion. She scrawled some things down on a clipboard and continued to observe the three. When it was time for the children to eat dinner, Yuu returned to his usual solemn self and followed the other children to the mess hall. Sakura was on the verge of crying again, but this time it wasn't happy tears.

Kakashi escorted her out and walked her home. She invited him in for tea. He smiled and accepted her offer. The talked about Yuu mostly. She looked around her apartment and sighed. Kakashi knew how she felt. He missed their home. These apartments were too big and filled with things they didn't need to survive. After giving her a hug, he left and returned to his own home. She unpacked her bag and went to bed.

A/N

I'm working on the next one, I don't know if I will get it posted tonight, but tomorrow is a lazy day, so hopefully I'll get a few chapters posted tomorrow.


	15. Yuu

MAROONED

So Sorry I didn't acknowledge on the last Chapter, Thank you Kyranee for the review! You have always been a supporter of my work! I'm so glad I can keep my followers happy!

Thanks to Jen and Inume-blue for the reviews on the last chapter! :)

Chapter 15

Yuu

The next week seemed to go so slowly, yet so fast. Kakashi had been dispatched on another mission and she was buried in work at the hospital. She barely had time to shower after getting home before passing out. One evening, she got home early and decided to start reading the book she had purchased and hadn't any chance to read yet. She was off tomorrow and planned on barricading herself in the house and reading all day. After two chapters, she fell asleep on the couch.

She was woken the next morning by someone shaking her gently. She went rigid. 'Who the hell is in my house and how did they get in?' she thought to herself. She opened her eyes and saw his silver hair cradling his face. She relaxed and smiled.

"Hey sleepy head, Tsunade wants to see us. I think it's about Yuu." He said, smiling. He had this glint in his eye, an almost devious look, but playful. She couldn't figure it out. She positioned herself into a sitting position and the book slid off her stomach and onto the floor. She went rigid again. She didn't reach for the book, she simply froze. Kakashi leaned down and picked it up.

"So, when did you start reading these?" He asked with a mischievous glint in his eye that was oh so very sexy. She bit her lip.

"What else was I supposed to do on the island? You think I was just sitting around twiddling my thumbs when I had something to do sitting right next to me?"

"So you liked it, huh?"

"Possibly... ok yes."

Kakashi's smile was almost sinister. "Guess I really am rubbing off on you dear. Running late, making ridiculous excuses, reading naughty naughty literature, what's next?"

"Tsunade's waiting." Sakura said quickly as she jumped up and ran towards the bathroom to get ready. Kakashi smiled as he thumbed through the book. She had selected his second favorite book of the series. Within minutes she was rushing towards the door. He followed but laid his fist on the door and shut it as soon as she opened it. He cornered her against the wall and door. He raised his head band and revealed his sharingan eye.

"What are you doing?" She asked quietly. She looked like a deer in headlights, but he could feel the anticipation rolling off her in waves. He neared her, inching closer and closer to her face. Her breathing escalated and her eyes fluttered shut. He passed her lips and went straight to her ear.

"We should really get going. Tsunade can get ... mean ... when you run late. Believe me. I know." He said in a voice like silk, his breath heating the shell of her ear with every syllable. She gasped and her eyes shot open. She looked at the classic Kakashi eye crease, he stood there acting like he had done nothing, just smiling away. She growled her response to him. "We will settle this later!" She growled as she nearly yanked the door off the hinges. Kakashi grinned and followed behind her.

"Yuu's orphanage caught fire and he was the only child who survived. They were shipping him to another orphanage when the storm hit the boat. I have contacted the other orphanage that he was going to and they have agreed to sign him over to Konoha. I only did this because of the report Hinata gave me. She said he seemed to act differently when he is around either of you. He needs you and I think you need him. Unfortunately, he will have to stay in the orphanage until someone adopts him. I wish that there was something I could do to help you to adopt him, but neither of you meet the requirements. You have to be married and be in a stable home."

Kakashi and Sakura couldn't stop the grieved look that they gave each other. Tsunade had noticed the look between the two but said nothing. She dismissed them and told them to go spend some time with Yuu. Since he was now an official member of Konoha, she gave them a day pass to take him out of the orphanage and spend the day with him.

Kakashi went and picked up Yuu while Sakura ran home to make a picnic lunch. They met up at the river. Yuu seemed a bit timid, but they figured he would warm up after a little while. They were right. Before they knew it, they were playing frisbee, baseball and soccer. They finally sat down to have lunch. Yuu smiled when he saw all the food before them. Sakura had packed some bento boxes, sandwiches and various fruits and vegetables. He wasn't quite sure which to eat first. Sakura and Kakashi smiled as they watched his reaction as he tried each item.

He had soon devoured everything that had been given to him. He politely thanked them for the meal and asked if he could go play some more. They agreed and watched him run, yell and laugh. It seemed a crime to bring him back to orphanage. He had been so open and carefree all day, but his demeanor went back to solemn as soon as the building came into view.


	16. What if?

MAROONED

Chapter 16

What if?

They got a day pass as often as they could, which unfortunately was by Sakura and Kakashi's schedule of when they both had the entire day which was maybe once a week. This went on for nearly a month.

One day they had brought Yuu out on a day pass.

"I want this to be every day Kakashi." She was shocked at herself for saying her thoughts aloud, but Kakashi simply nodded in response as if she had spoken what he was thinking.

"Would you be willing to give up your career just to adopt him?" Kakashi asked in a serious tone.

"You mean if I had a husband who was working, me being a stay at home mom?"

"Something like that."

"Well, sure. I could always do studies from home as well. I could bring my research in once a week to the hospital. But if quitting the medical field altogether was the only option, I would do it for him. What about you? Would you be willing to quit missions and be a stay at home dad if your wife was working?"

"Well, I am getting to be an old man. Retirement is coming closer." Kakashi laughed. Sakura rolled her eyes.

"Yes, but I would prefer that my wife to stay home with the kids. I feel the man needs to provide for the family. The mothers are generally better at showing their love." Kakashi said while looking directly at her. She blushed a little and turned her gaze to Yuu who was still having the time of his life.

"Would you marry me if it meant that we could adopt Yuu?"

Sakura nearly choked on air. "What about the elders? The rules? Its supposed to be forbidden. Teachers cant marry their students."

"Well, technically I am not your teacher anymore, but what if we could find a way around it?"

"Defy the elders?"

"Hey, it's me, Kakashi. I can find ways around anything!"

"I ... yes, but I want to be honest. I wouldn't do it just because of Yuu. I would want us to do it for us too."

"Do you love me?" Kakashi asked.

She didn't hesitate her honest answer. "Yes. Do you love me?"

"Yes I do. I have for some time. I'll have a talk with Tsunade." He leaned in and gave her a sweet simple kiss on her cheek through his mask. Dropping Yuu off was hard, but they had a lot to talk about. The thought of possibly being able to adopt Yuu made leaving him just a little bit easier. They arrived at Sakura's house and she put the water on for the tea. They sat on the couch and started to discuss things.

When he was leaving, she walked him to the door. He stopped her from opening the door. He wished he had done it sooner, it was far past due but it was definitely time. He began to slowly pull down his mask. Her breath hitched as he revealed a very handsome face. He leaned in and looked deep into her eyes.

"Sakura Haruno, I love you. I will marry you no matter what I have to do, or how long it takes. We will go to another village if we have to, but we will get married. We will do it firstly for us and secondly for Yuu. I want to marry you. It may not have happened as quickly as it is if Yuu hadn't come into our lives, but I would still do everything I could to marry you no matter what. Once we are married, we can focus on getting things squared away to make a home and a life for Yuu." He sealed his promise with their very first kiss. It was sweet and soft, not demanding or rushed. He pulled away leaving her to nearly melt into a puddle. He smiled and laughed softly as he grabbed her waist and assisted her to the couch. Giving her one last kiss, he said goodbye and let himself out.

Moments later, Sakura who was still sitting in the same spot smiled from ear to ear and threw her head down into the cushions of the sofa. She screamed out of pure joy.

The next time they went on one of their day passes with Yuu, while they were eating lunch, Kakashi pulled a little box out of his pocket and handed it to Yuu. He pulled out another box and handed it to Sakura. Yuu opened his first. It was a medallion with a symbol of the leaf village on one side and the Hatake crest on the other. Yuu smiled and hugged Kakashi.

"My father gave me this when I started the academy. You are of age to start the academy as well. Lady Tsunade has agreed to let you start training this year." Yuu was so excited. He thanked Kakashi over and over. "Now you!" Yuu said to Sakura. Sakura looked at Kakashi.

"You talked to Tsunade? What did she say?"

"Open the box." Was his short response. She opened it and before her was a shimmering diamond ring. Sakura's mouth dropped wide open.

"Sakura, will you marry me?"

"Yes, oh yes!" She yelled and lunged towards Kakashi, grabbing him in a hug.

"Will you be my mommy and daddy now?" Yuu asked.

"Were going to try to adopt you as soon as we get married and build a life for you." Kakashi told him.

"I hope it doesn't take too long." Yuu said. Then he got up and began to play.

The next day, Sakura was at the hospital working on some antidotes when Tsunade came into Sakura's office and carefully shut the door behind her.

"Why have your grown so attached to Yuu?"

"I don't know. I have always loved kids. I guess because he nearly died and I saved his life. I've seen how sad he is to be in an orphanage. All he wants is for someone to love him. He wants parents. He wants Kakashi and I."

"What if I could make it happen?"

"How?"

"Just a few more minutes." Tsunade said, looking at the clock.

A knock came at the door. Kakashi let himself in and shut the door behind him.

"Ok, here's how things are going to happen. I cannot marry you by law. I have looked through every law book and cannot find a way around it. No one even stated that if teacher and student were no longer in that relationship if they could marry. I asked the elders about it in a roundabout way without letting my plan be known. They did confirm that they do not approve of the idea. If you get married anywhere else, your marriage will forbid you from ever returning to the leaf. I did manage to find a way to marry the both of you without actually defying the elders and you will not be banned from Konoha, but you wont be able to live here either. If you want an actual wedding though, It cannot take place here."

Kakashi and Sakura leaned in eagerly to listen to her plan.

A/N

Unfortunately the story is coming to an end, but I am afraid to drag it out, I may hurt the story more than help it if i do. I think there's one or two more chapters left though. Maybe three if I feel I can drag it out just a tad ;)


	17. Big Plans

MAROONED

Thanks to one of my faithful followers, The You of Yesterday for the review! I'm glad you agree about dragging it out. I hate it, buts coming to a close and I can't stop it. But I can always come back and add little things here and there when I do the re edits. :)

Chapter 17

Big Plans

"I am going to send you both on a mission. I will require that you are a married couple. I assume you have heard of these type of missions." Both nodded in response.

"Ok, just to clarify though, two shinobi sent on one of these missions have to legally be married. There are no fake marriages. I will sign a real marriage certificate, making the both of you legally married. The only difference is the others marriage will be broken when they both return and ask me to do the divorce. You are going to go back to the island you were abandoned on. I want you both to make a base camp there. This way, your mission will be an extended one, so questions wont be asked if you were to return and not undo the marriage. You will still be affiliated with the leaf. Seeing as how you both and Yuu were shipwrecked and landed on the island, I think it's a prime spot for people who are shipwrecked to wash up on. Sakura, with you being a medical nin, you can offer medical assistance to the survivors. We will have a boat come once a month or once every other month to bring you supplies and to pick up and survivors, if any."

"What about Yuu?" Sakura asked eagerly.

"I'm getting to that. I will make the marriage legal in one month. I have spoken to Garra and he has agreed to give you a small wedding ceremony if you desire one. Like I said, the wedding cannot take place here. I can only sign the documents making you legally married here. I suggest that you do not invite, or let anyone here know of the ceremony if you choose to do one. If word gets back to the elders, they will know it to be a sham and our plan will backfire. They are not nearly as understanding as I would like. I know you both would probably want Yuu to be there, but I cannot allow you to take him for that period of time per orphanage guidelines. Have a honeymoon in Suna. I cannot stress that enough. Relax, enjoy your time alone as husband and wife. You will soon have no privacy. I will write the honeymoon off as a mission to thank Garra for his assistance with Yuu. When you come back, I will sign the adoption papers and you can take Yuu with you to the island. You will be a legit family, what you want, and no one will even realize it."

Sakura and Kakashi held hands and smiled at one another.

"Since I have already cleared him to go to the academy and he wont be here to attend, Sakura I am leaving it up to you to teach him his general studies. Kakashi, you will be in charge of teaching him as you have taught team seven. This way if he chooses to come back to the leaf once he is grown, he will be able to go on missions, or even apply for anbu. I know you are both probably wondering how I will be able to get away with this adoption. I already have it figured out. I will put that I am testing out an experiment, if children can be trained at home, like homeschooling. Now, Sakura, get back to work, Kakashi I believe you have a mission to pack for tomorrow. As far as anyone else knows, we never had this discussion. See you both in a month."

She was gone as if she never came. Kakashi yanked down his mask and kissed Sakura. "I told you we would get married, no matter what." She smiled and gently smacked his shoulder.

"Do you ever get tired of being right?"

"Nope." And with that, he was gone. She found it hard to focus on her work the rest of the day. That night, she came home to find her door unlocked. She entered her house on alert, but breathed in relief when she saw Kakashi in the kitchen, losing his mind. Pots were boiling over, something black, charred beyond belief and unrecognizable smoked in a pan, threatening to catch fire. She held in her laugh as she watched Kakashi grab handfuls of his hair and start pulling.

"You need some help?" She asked with a smile. He turned off the burners and threw everything in the sink.

"We're going out." He stated, simply, removing his apron and throwing it in a heap on the floor. He flailed his arms in the air, giving the 'I wash my hands of this' look.

They went to a nice restaurant. A little too nice for her pocketbook.

"I've been on allot of missions lately." He reassured as her eyes and mouth went wide, looking at the prices on the menu.

"Yes, I've noticed." She said with a smile.

"So do you want the ceremony Garra has offered?" Kakashi asked after they placed their order.

"Yes, I just wish Yuu could be a part of it."

"He will be with us from there on out though. He's the second reason we are doing this."

"Yeah, I just wish it didn't have to be so secretive, but I will take whatever I can get."

"We can always come back and visit here too. Tsunade forgot to mention in our meeting, something she told me the other day. She said we can have some of the shinobi that bring supplies stay there in our spot while we come back for a visit. Yuu will have to come back for things too, like the chunnin exams. We can make a little vacation out of it."

"I think it sounds like a pretty good plan to me. Neither of us has really been happy since we returned. We are so busy, we rarely get to see each other, and we see Yuu even less. Going to the island, we will be the family we have been wanting, still working under the leaf and being in the place we feel most at home."

"You know, I never really pictured myself as a family man. Before we were marooned, I would have never imagined that I would be getting married within the year, let alone, starting a family."

"Instant family, just add love. I feel the same. After I came to my senses and realized that Sasuke and I were never going to happen, I never wanted a relationship with anyone. I had relationships, but they were strictly sexual as I know all or most of yours have been. I have to confess that Temari was the one who opened my eyes."

Kakashi perked up to listen closely as Sakura continued.

"I told her that I was still unsure whether my love for you was out of loneliness or of it was real. She made a point to me that made me realize that it was something more. She told me that if nothing were there between us, we would have been nothing more than bed partners. The fact that we never did and still have not done so, made me realize that we cared for each other more than just a passing fancy."

"You know, Temari had the same exact discussion with me the second night we were there. I was unsure of my feelings towards you and when she told me the very same thing she told you, that's when I figured it out."

"Why that little cupid!" Sakura said, smiling. "I do want to do the ceremony in Suna. I want Temari to be a part of our wedding. After all, we wouldn't be where we are now if she hadn't given us the push we needed. Sure we would have figured it out sooner or later, but by that time, Yuu might have already been adopted."

They spent the rest of their evening discussing the wedding and the plans they had for the island when they returned. Once the staff were clearing tables and the restaurant had been closed for nearly half an hour, they decided to leave and get out of everyone's way. He took her home and kissed her goodnight.

"See you in a week, soon to be Mrs. Sakura Hatake."

Sakura smiled and blushed a bit at hearing her soon to be name spoken by her soon to be husband, but she sighed. "Right, another mission."

"Don't worry, only one more month and then I am yours to be with every day until we die." He kissed her again after seeing her smile and took off.

A/N

Things have taken a turn for the busiest today. I was hoping to nearly finish the story today, but I'm not sure if that's going to happen. Anyways, another chapter down :) I'm sure you all can tell where I am going with this now. Very happy ending, but I still have a couple of chapters left! Stay tuned!


	18. The Last Step

MAROONED

Special thanks to Aurora-chan, one of my faithful longtime followers Laurie, and TheRedGirl0000000000 for the amazing reviews! Aurora-chan, you have given me a bit of a big head with your comment ;) Thank you, it really means allot to hear the wonderful things all of you have said! I may not be the best, but it brings me happiness to know that people enjoy what i give them.

Chapter 18

The Last Step

The next 3 weeks flew by. Sakura hardly saw Kakashi. Tsunade was obviously getting all the use out of him she could before she lost him. But Sakura was to busy to be sad. She was juggling her hospital work, with wedding plans. Kakashi had taken a weekend solo mission to a village near Suna. He made sure to drop by and give Temari and Garra the news and the plans Sakura had in mind for the ceremony.

"You tell Sakura not to worry. I got this. You will have a memorable wedding and an even more memorable honeymoon." Temari said with confidence and a wink. Kakashi himself fought down the urge to blush as he thought about the honeymoon he would be spending with his wife in just a weeks time. They still had not done the deed. They were too busy. It had nothing to do with morals, well not that he knew of, they had never really discussed it. But he felt proud of himself that everything was falling into place as traditional old school marriages did.

He had bought the rings for the ceremony and had placed them under Garra's care. He returned to Konoha and met Sakura for their one day together that week before the wedding. He had one last mission to take before they sealed the deal. They collected their day pass and picked up Yuu for their usual picnic.

"Yuu, we will be leaving next week. Kakashi and I have to go somewhere to finalize everything so that we can become your mommy and daddy."

He nodded. He seemed a little sad, but he seemed to understand.

"Will you hurry back?"

"Of course we will." Kakashi said smiling. He had began removing his mask on these occasions so that his soon to be wife and son could get to know his face. Sakura loved his smiles. They were contagious for Yuu too. When he saw Kakashi smile, he would instantly smile.

They spent their last Konoha picnic with Yuu. It was a dream day for the memory book. For the first time ever, they took Yuu back to the orphanage and said goodbye, he hugged them and smiled wide. "Hurry back!" He said as he walked towards the mess hall for dinner.

"Do you need help packing?" Sakura asked Kakashi.

"No, but I do have some boxes at the apartment that I need donated. Could you do it for me while I am gone? I have them labeled, whats coming to the island and whats being donated."

"Sure!"

They said goodnight, kissed and split their separate ways. Kakashi had to pack for his mission and Sakura needed her sleep. She was finishing up the largest poison study she had ever worked on. She would be finished with work the day after tomorrow and could focus on getting all of her and Kakashi's affairs in order. They had given their landlords their notices, had told friends only what they needed to know about the 'mission'. Lots of them wolf whistled and cat called, but Sakura ignored them all with a roll of her eyes.

She hadn't focused too much on the wedding. Temari was handling it and Sakura felt she could trust her with this. All Sakura had to do was pay off her wedding dress and get her wedding gift for Kakashi. She had settled on a very alluring red silk and lace corset outfit for the wedding night. Tsunade had made it clear that they were to have a real honeymoon. What else did couples do on honeymoons?

She had bought some clothes for Yuu. He didn't have much. She bought him a few other things and packed his box to give him when they got to the island. Over the next few days, she had moved all of Kakashi's 'keep' boxes to her house and donated the rest as well as her own boxes. The only things that were left were bits of furniture in her house. They were going to bring some of it.

Tsunade had agreed to send a few sturdier materials to add on to their home, to expand it. Kakashi had learned how to make a solar salt water purifying well with just sand, leaves and rocks. She was very excited about it. They were still going to keeps things simple, but bring a few things to make life a little more comfortable, such as proper bedding, pots and pans, a few toiletries and just a few other things. She particularly liked the thought of not having to shave with a kunai anymore.

Before she knew it, the day before they were to be married was here. Kakashi was to return tonight. Since she had completely cleared out his apartment and brought everything to hers, he would stay the night with her. She fought to sleep, but the butterflies and excitement were keeping her from it, also aided by the worry that Kakashi hadn't returned. She stayed up as long as she could but eventually the worry had exhausted her and she fell asleep.

The next morning, she woke to see Kakashi laying next to her, sleeping soundly. She got up and made breakfast. He woke to the smell and came into the kitchen.

"Sorry I ran late last night. I stopped by and spoke to Temari about a last minute thing."

"What was it?"

"You'll see."

She decided to leave it be and finished her food. Afterwards, they grabbed their honeymoon luggage and headed straight over to the Hokage building. Tsunade was waiting for them. She had the paper filled out and ready for them to sign. After scrawling their signatures, she congratulated them on becoming Mr. and Mrs. Hatake. She then informed them to leave for Suna immediately. It seemed a bit of a crime, being married so simply and rushed. No big celebration, Friends not cheering in the back ground, but this was a complicated marriage and highly against the rules. She decided to just get over and look forward to their ceremony in Suna ... and the honeymoon. She blushed fiercely at the thought of spending her wedding night with her new husband. He had to be quite a pleaser between the books, the numerous women that had followed him like lost puppies and that face, oh his face was more than she could have imagined. If angels could carve something as handsome as that, why did it seem like a temptation drenched sin?

The nightly camp was a bit disappointing. They slept separately in case someone were watching. Their 'mission' was to be married, not to consummate it, but once they reached Suna, they would have the privacy of closed walls.

Temari was waiting at the gate when they arrived.

"No time to waste!" She said in a bubbly excited voice. Kankuro escorted Kakashi in one direction, while Temari took Sakura in another. Sakura entered Temari's quarters and began to unpack her dress. After she had it on, Temari fixed her hair and placed her veil upon her head.

"A gift from your husband." Temari said, handing Sakura a small box, with a note.

'I'm sorry I was late the other night, but I wanted to make sure that you got this for our wedding. - Your Husband, Kakashi'

She opened the box to find a beautiful gold heart hanging from a small chain. On the front were initials 'S', 'K' and 'H' The inscription on the back said 'My Love, Heart, Soul and Best Friend.' Temari helped her with the clasp and adjusted it so it hung perfectly.

Her eyes began to tear up. Temari finished dressing herself and handed Sakura a bouquet of white roses with red baby roses and tiny pink flowers. A silver ribbon hung from the bunched up stems.

"You look gorgeous!" Temari said with a large smile. She led Sakura down the hall of the large building. They arrived at some double doors. Sakura could hear a guitar playing a sweet melody. She took a long breath and nodded to Temari that she was ready. The doors opened. It was a very small ceremony. Garra was at the front, he would be performing the ceremony. Kankuro stood at Kakashi's side, dressed quite nicely and nearly unrecognizable. Kakashi was in a stunning black suit which made him look irresistible Sakura began to walk slowly down the isle, Temari following behind her. There were roses everywhere, Temari had really outdone herself. There was a friendly genjutsu over the room to make it appear that they were in a lush green forest, surrounded by birds and other soothing sounds.

Kakashi nearly shed a tear as he looked at Sakura. She was absolutely beautiful. When she reached him, they took each other's hand. Garra began the ceremony. When it came time to put the rings on each other, Kakashi pulled out the engagement ring she had been unable to wear at home. He slipped it on her finger and slid the wedding ring on behind it. She slid his ring on his finger. They looked up into each other's eyes and Garra said the words, pronouncing them as husband and wife and to please kiss. They didn't have to be told twice. Kakashi kissed her and her arms wrapped around his neck.

After the ceremony, the five headed over to the dining room. Temari had an amazing feast prepared and they all sat down to eat. Each of the siblings made a toast to the happy couple, Sakura and Kakashi made toasts to the siblings for all they had done to help in making their wedding everything they had imagined and for celebrating it with them. The dinner was amazing, filled with happiness, laughter, great wine and great company.

Following dinner, Kankuro escorted them to their honeymoon suite. Temari had the room decorated with rose petals, candles and a sweet letter to the both of them, congratulating them on their marriage and thanking them for letting her be a part of it. Sakura wondered if the room decor was all Temari's idea or if her husband had a part in it. He had showed her a romantic side of him she never knew existed. He kissed her. She kissed back.

"I've wanted this for so long." He whispered into her ear as he gently laid her on the bed. She kissed him in response. He looked into her eyes. "Let me show you one more way how much I love you."

The next morning, Breakfast was delivered to their room. They felt like royalty. A breakfast fit for the Kazekage himself. After breakfast, they made love again. In the late afternoon, they walked to courtyard's garden. They spent their honeymoon just as Tsunade had made it apparent how she wanted them to spend it. Lots of love-making, relaxation, and time spent with each other. It seemed a tad heartbreaking when the day to leave came, but they had to go home and get Yuu and start the journey back to the life they had made for themselves. It made the journey back to Konoha not so bitter.

A/N Sorry for the lack of lemon. ;) I made the rating for this story 'T' when I started it and I just dont feel up to writing a lemon right now. I really hope that everyone is enjoying it so far. I am loving the reviews! You all have made it so worth the writing!


	19. The Return to Happiness

MAROONED

I feel silly. This is the last chapter and I have been putting it off because I don't want the story to end. I promise to go back and fix the errors throughout the story, I know there a quite a few, but when the chapters start playing out in my head, I have to type them before i forget them. If I happen to think of anything to add to the story, i will put on the chapter that it has been edited.

Chapter 19

The Return to Happiness

The trip back to Konoha seemed to take ages. Probably had something to do with their desire to get back so quickly. They were nearly home, when the worst thing that could have happened, did. Sakura wasn't paying attention, her mind was too focused on getting back. Her foot slipped on a tree branch and down she went. She split her ankle bone in two. Her forearm was shattered and her wrist on the other arm was broken. She screamed in agony, causing Kakashi to stop in mid leap, nearly hurling him to the same fate. He luckily landed on his feet, but unfortunately the force in which he landed, resulted in breaking his leg.

He hobbled over to her as quickly as he could.

"I knew something bad was bound to happen, we were too close to something good!" She hissed through gritted teeth.

"Can you heal anything?" he asked, unsure of what her capabilities were at the moment.

"No, I've shattered too much in my arms, my chakra flow wont reach my hands. It's too disrupted for me to attempt anything."

Kakashi bit his thumb, did some seals and pressed his hand to the ground. A puff of smoke appeared and Pakkun appeared when the smoke disappeared.

"Whatcha need boss?" Pakkun asked.

"I need you to get back to the leaf and send someone out here. Sakura is in bad shape and I am in no shape to get us home."

"Right away." Pakkun took off. He sat with his wife, trying to keep her calm. She was in pain and furious with herself.

"I've never been so stupid. Even when I was the worthless member of team seven, I at least watched where I was going." She spat.

"Firstly, you were never worthless. The most beautiful rose needs time to bloom. Secondly, you can't blame yourself. Look at me, I never get hurt and here I sit with a broken leg. The great Kakashi has broken a leg." He was trying to make her laugh, but it only resulted in making her more angry.

"Yeah, because of me. If I had been looking where I was going, you wouldn't have broken your leg."

"Not true. We were so eager to get back that we just weren't paying attention." He finally decided to be quiet. He was obviously not helping. He had been a part of Sakura's life for a long time, but he was still learning new things with her. They waited for what seemed like hours. Finally a team of shinobi came and assisted them back to the village. Sakura had passed out from the pain.

She woke up a day later, in the hospital ward. She hazily looked around the room. Kakashi and Yuu were seated at the table, playing shogi together. Kakashi seemed a bit frazzled. Was Yuu beating him? She smiled at the picture before her. She re positioned herself as best she could to watch them better. They heard her moving and looked up. Yuu ran over to her with excitement. "Look what daddy bought me!" pointing to the board game. She smiled.

"It looks like you are pretty good at it!"

"Yeah. Hes excellent at it." Kakashi said in a defeated voice, tussling Yuu's dark brown hair. Yuu responded with a giggle and a heart warming smile. As if she knew Sakura was awake, Tsunade walked in, carrying some papers.

"I figured you would be awake." She said with a smile. "I have some papers for you to sign."

"Am I being released?" Sakura asked, hopeful.

"No ma'am. You will be in here for a bit. Your chakra channels were so badly damaged, it's going to take some time to repair itself."

"How long?" Sakura asked, not really wanting to hear the answer.

"About a week." Tsunade said, pushing the bed table into position over Sakura's lap. Sakura groaned at hearing the timeline.

"Now, Now. You had a serious accident young lady. You're lucky that you will be healing that quickly. Anyone else would be in here at least a month." Sakura didn't seem to share Tsunade's enthusiasm.

"Anyways, I have brought you some things to sign."

"What is it lady S'nade?" Yuu asked, slightly concerned.

"It's the paperwork to legally give you the mommy and daddy you have been wanting." Tsunade said with a smile. Yuu reminded her of a milder Naruto with those eyes. The mood immediately lightened around the room. Tsunade handed Sakura the pen and placed the papers in front of her. Sakura had a little trouble signing due to her condition. After she finished, Sakura handed the pen to her husband, who signed the paper. Tsunade then placed her own signature underneath both of theirs.

"Congratulations! He's all yours."

"No more oprh'nage?" Yuu asked.

"No more orphanage." Tsunade confirmed. Yuu jumped up and down shouting 'Yay' and hugging everyone. Sakura and Kakashi smiled as they watched their son celebrate. Tsunade told them she would be back to check on Sakura's condition later.

They spent the day inside the hospital room. Yuu was so helpful, constantly asking Sakura if she needed anything. He simply stated that she made him well when she found him and he wanted to do the same for her. Kakashi was hobbling around on crutches, but was healing quickly and would be rid of them with in two days. That evening, Kakashi and Yuu kissed her goodnight. Kakashi took Yuu back to Sakura's apartment since there was a bed there. Yuu didn't want to leave, but Kakashi whispered something in his ear and he fought no more.

The next morning, they were in her room, bright and early with breakfast. Afterwards, they wheeled Sakura around in a wheelchair. They visited the hospital garden for a few hours. Most of the days that week were like that. The day had finally come fore Sakura to get her casts removed. The next day, she started therapy. She had done so remarkable in therapy that Tsunade had agreed to release her a day early. The family was thrilled.

They had sent all their belongings to be loaded on the boat the day before they were to head to the dock. She shut the door on her empty apartment and locked it for the very last time. They were staying the night at the local inn and would head out first thing in the morning. Upon reaching the inn, Naruto asked them to come down to the inn's dining room after they dropped their luggage off in their room.

The three of them went downstairs and were beyond surprised at the grand party that everyone had constructed.

"It's a going away present!" Naruto boasted. Everyone was there, even Tsunade. They had cake and appetizers, they danced, laughed and had a wonderful time. Everyone gave heartfelt goodbyes and told them to visit soon. Hinata handed Sakura a present.

"Not here." She whispered. Naruto wrapped his arm around Hinata. He looked at the present and smiled at Sakura, then gave Kakashi a minor glare, but it soon faded and he hugged his old sensei and told him goodbye. The next morning they left for the dock.

Nearly a week later, their island was coming into view. Sakura was giddy, Kakashi was smiling and Yuu followed after his father, and smiled wide. Once everything had been unloaded onto shore, the boat sailed away. Kakashi and Sakura looked about the island. It looked the same. A storm or two had hit, but they were minor. Beach clean up wouldn't take long at all. Upon unpacking the materials Tsunade had sent, Kakashi ran across a box that had been hidden within the lumber. He held it up for Sakura to see. She remembered the gift Hinata had given her. She rushed to her pack and grabbed the box.

The two of them sat down on the sand while Yuu ran in the sand and played. Kakashi began to open Tsunade's box. Inside was a letter.

Dear Hatake Family,

While Sakura was in the hospital, I ran a few blood tests. The results of one were exactly as I had expected and hoped. When I spoke to you about the honeymoon, I had already set my plan in motion. One of the things the elders mentioned, that I neglected to tell you, was that if a shinobi pair are married for a mission, consummate the marriage and conceive a child, the law forbids them from being able to divorce unless there is a plausible reason in which the Hokage has final decision. I was forbidden to speak these rules unless the situation came to hand. Sakura, Kakashi, you are expecting a child.

I have spoken with Hinata, You are due in nearly eight months. She and Naruto will make a vacation to the island when the time comes and she will assist in the birth of your child. I congratulate you both a third time now. First on your marriage, second on your adoption and now thirdly on expanding your family. If you need anything, please do not hesitate to let me know. The next boat will come to in you a month's time. Send any letters you wish. You are now able to admit to everyone the truth. By the time you read this, I have already spoken to the elders. There is no way around the law on this. They cannot forbid you to come home. I will be working to change this silly law once and for all now.

Please stay safe, Sakura, Please rest, Kakashi, don't let her do too much. Best Regards - Tsunade

P.S. Burn this. I don't want there to be any evidence of the thing I have done. Thanks!

Kakashi looked at Sakura, she looked at him. He grabbed her and kissed her. They were interrupted by their own laughter when they herd Yuu playfully yelling "ewwww!" They called Yuu over and gave him the news.

"I'm going to have a baby brother or sister?"

"You sure are, you are going to be a big brother. You will have to teach them the way of the island. You have a big responsibility on you."

"I got this." Yuu said in complete confidence, making Sakura giggle just a little.

She started to tear open the other package and stopped.

"Yuu, why don't you open this one? I'm already carrying the biggest package." She said with a smile, rubbing her still flat stomach.

He ripped open the paper and he held up a plaque. It read

'This house is blessed by all inside, we built this home with love and pride. The Hatake Family Home'

Sakura was crying uncontrollably due to her overload of hormones caused by her pregnancy. Kakashi was beaming with pride as he removed his mask and placed it in his pocket. He no longer needed it. Yuu was smiling, still full of happiness at the thought of being a big brother. He didn't remember having a family and now he had two loving parents and a sibling on the way. He was the happiest he had ever been.

The construction of the add on and minor replacements on the house took a little longer since Sakura was out of commission, but within a month, Kakashi had everything finished. Yuu had been more than enough help. He was taking the big brother role quite responsibly. A few survivors had washed up on the island over the next few months. Kakashi, Sakura and Yuu waved goodbye to them all as they watched the boat fade into the horizon. Kakashi rubbed his hand over Sakura's growing belly and kissed her.

"It's so good to be home."

A/N

I want to give a very special thanks to the reviewers who kept my motivation high. You all have said such kind words and made me very happy. I am by no means ready to publish a book, but you all make me feel proud. I want to thank those who have read the story completely through, even if they didn't review. It means allot to see the stats on the story of how many people who have read it all the way through. Ok my sappy thanks you's are through. Until my next story, Happy Reading and Thank you all so much!

In order from first to last

Guest  
Tarani Bosatsu  
Aurora-chan  
The You of Yesterday  
Jen  
Liamescent  
Inume-blue  
kyranee  
Laurie  
TheRedGirl0000000000


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